“Virat one of the greats, no chance of stealing number 3 spot from him”: Shreyas Iyer

Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India]: Following his side’s 99-run win over Australia in the second ODI, Indian batter Shreyas Iyer, who had smashed a match-winning century, said that he is not in line to take the number three batting position from star batter Virat Kohli, calling him one of the greatest.

India outplayed Australia with both bat and ball to clinch the three-match ODI series 2-0 after winning the second match by 99 runs through the Duckworth-Lew-Lew–Lewis–Stern (DLS) method at the Holkar Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

“It was a rollercoaster ride (his injury), feeling fantastic. My teammates, friends and family were there for my support. I was seeing the matches on TV, I wanted to be out there and participate in the matches. Grateful to be believing in myself.

The pain and niggles kept on coming, but I knew what I was aiming for. Glad that I was able to execute my plans perfectly today. Basically, when I went in to bat, I did not want to complicate things. I wanted to get my eyes set, that’s how I give confidence to myself.

I am flexible, and ready to bat any position, whatever my team needs me to do. Virat (Kohli) is one of the greats, there is no chance of stealing that (number 3) spot from him.

I just need to keep scoring wherever (at any position) I bat,” said Iyer in the post-match presentation.

Iyer has batted 11 times at number three in ODIs, scoring 642 runs at an average of 58.36 and a strike rate of above 97. He has one century and six fifties at this position, with the best score of 105.

Coming to the match, India was put to bat first by Australia. A 200-run partnership for the second wicket between Shubman Gill (104 in 97 balls, six fours and four sixes) and Shreyas Iyer (105 in 90 balls, 11 fours and three sixes) laid the foundation for something big. Later, half centuries from skipper KL Rahul (52 in 38 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Suryakumar Yadav (72* in 37 balls with six fours and six sixes) and a cameo from Ishan Kishan (31 in 18 balls with two fours and two sixes) pushed India to 399/5 in 50 overs.

Cameron Green took two wickets for Australia but gave away 103 runs. Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott and Adam Zampa took a wicket each.

In the chase of 400, Australia was reduced to 9/2 and rain interrupted the action. Following the resumption of action, the target was 317 in 33 overs.

An 80-run stand between David Warner (53 in 39 balls, seven fours and a six) and Marnus Labuschagne (27) stabilised the innings a bit. But after this, wickets kept falling and the Aussies sunk to 140/8.

A 77-run explosive partnership between Abbott (54 in 36 balls with four boundaries and five sixes) and Josh Hazlewood (23) entertained the audience, but the Aussies were bundled out for 217 in 28.2 overs, losing by 99 runs.

Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for India with 3/41, with his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja getting 3/42. Prasidh Krishna got two wickets while Mohammed Shami got one.

India has won the series 2-0 with one match to go.
Shreyas Iyer was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his century.