India batter Shreyas Iyer brushed aside any short-ball concerns after his match-winning knock of 82 off 56 balls against Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup 2023 match on November 4. Iyer’s innings ensured that India posted a total in excess of 350 while batting first after being a bit bogged down in the last ten overs post wickets of Virat Kohli (88) and Shubman Gill (92).
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Talking at the post-match press conference, Iyer gave a rather blunt reply when asked about the problems against the short ball and asked, “When you say it’s a problem for me, what do you mean?”
“Have you seen how many pull shots I’ve scored, especially which has gone for four?” he added.
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As per ESPNCricninfo stats, Iyer’s strike rate against the short ball has been a healthy 135.44 in ODIs with an average of 21.40 – suggesting that he gets out a lot against the deliveries. That, however, doesn’t undermine his ability to play the short length on which he has hit almost 20% of his fours – 34 of 191 in his career.
Talking about his dismissals against the short-pitched balls, Iyer said: “You know if you try to hit a ball, you’re bound to get out anyway whether it’s a short ball or overpitched. If I get bowled two or three times, you all would say he can’t play an inswinging ball, he can’t play if the ball is seaming. You guys have created that mahol [feeling] outside that he can’t play a short ball, and I feel that people are picking that up every now and then and it plays on your mind regularly and you keep working on that.”
Iyer came in to bat in the 30th over and was close to his century before getting out in the 48th over after hitting two back-to-back sixes. The batter, however, did not rue missing out on the century and hoped he’d get another chance to score in the matches to come.
“This is the stage where you play for the team. You don’t play for your individual performance. We definitely discuss about missing out on centuries or half-centuries. But going forward, say if we are put in a similar situation, I would have to take on the bowlers. If I was batting in the 47th or 48th over, I won’t be thinking of the century. Nevertheless there are a few more matches to come. I hope I’ll be able to get one. “
With their seventh win on the trot, India has become the first team to qualify for the semis and will play next on November 5 against South Africa.
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