FEATURES
Follow UsCall it the fickle nature of Indian cricket fans, the short-lived memory or the impatience, the life of an Indian cricketer is always under scrutiny. Unless you have the insurance of a Virat Kohli or a Rohit Sharma, based on the hard yards they have put in before, there is always a sword hanging over your neck when you have a lean patch, irrespective of the stretch of it. Regardless of the runs you have scored in the previous series. There is someone else knocking at the door and every little glitch in your game will be observed with a magnifying glass.
Shreyas Iyer’s 2023 has gone on a similar note. The 28-year-old cemented his spot in India’s ODI setup in 2022, averaging 55.7 at a strike rate of 91.7 for his 724 runs. His best numbers came at number four - five innings, 248 runs, 82.7 average, 85.5 strike rate.
Be it ODIs, Tests or T20Is, Iyer enjoyed the most fruitful year of his international career in 2022 in terms of batting average. However, from the team’s perspective, it was his ODI statistics that mattered the most - a potential solution to India’s long-lasting number four issues, one that played a part in the unfulfilled 2019 World Cup campaign. Moreover, it was the year when the focus was re-shifting to the ODIs. Iyer’s performances set the plans in motion.
But 2023 started with a blip. The Mumbaikar averaged 37.7 between January and the start of the World Cup. After a back surgery in April, Iyer missed three months of cricket due to rehab. In between, Ishan Kishan cashed in. On the basis of his 82 versus Pakistan in Pallekele, batting in the middle-order during the 2023 Asia Cup, Kishan established a three-way tussle with Iyer and KL Rahul for two spots. At this point, Iyer had not cracked a 50-plus score in four ODI innings in 2023.
Short-lived memory and someone else knocking on the door. Fortunes change in a snap of fingers in Indian cricket.
While most of this buzz was on social media, you could sense it reached Iyer in some capacity. Normally a batter who celebrates his milestones with a calm demeanor, his 100th run against Australia in Indore, India’s last series before the World Cup, was followed by an uncharacteristic loud roar. It was also his first 50-plus score in the year, a match-winning 105.
Fast forward to the World Cup, Iyer had a dull start. His only 50-plus score came against Pakistan, a game India had effectively finished with Rohit Sharma’s string of boundaries while chasing an under-par target. In the six matches played in October, Iyer scored only 134 runs (average 26.8, strike rate 84.8).
The glitches in his game were observed with a magnifying glass.
After his 82 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium, Iyer was asked in the press conference if short balls shape an apparent weakness in his game. His response created polarized opinions - some said he was rude in his response while others catered he was right in hitting back at the journalist, asking the journalist if he has seen how many pull shots he has scored, especially which has gone for four.
Factually speaking, Iyer was not wrong. Since 2022, the right-hander has pulled the pacers 130 times in ODIs alone, averaging 31.6 at a strike rate of 170. He has hit 27 fours and five sixes.
However, the short ball has only been a minor problem in Iyer’s game. A better way to estimate his value is how he embraces the challenges of batting at number four, as he has done in the November phase of this World Cup.
Iyer amassed his maiden World Cup hundred against Netherlands, hammering an unbeaten 128. If you think the task was easy against a non-Test playing nation, he smothered the New Zealand attack in a semi-final, scoring the third-fastest hundred by an Indian in a World Cup fixture.
Number four is a tricky position in limited-overs cricket. The most necessary ingredient to gather success here is to possess a strong game against spin. That was never a problem for Iyer.
He averages 94.6 against spinners in his ODI career as compared to 39.5 against pace. This World Cup, he averages 229 against them at a strike rate of 102.2.
Iyer not only keeps spinners out, he nullifies their impact by hitting sixes. Not just sixes, BIG SIXES. In a team where facing spinners on slow tracks seemed like a potential chink, Iyer was India’s best bet. He has fulfilled that role to the fullest.
But that is not it for a number four batter. You have to sense the pulse of the game and bat accordingly - don’t let the run-rate drop if the top order has set a good platform or fight it out in the middle if there is no foundation.
In his last four innings, Iyer has done it all.
Against Sri Lanka, Iyer walked in the 31st over with 193 runs on the board already. He began with a strike rate of 135 in the first 20 balls and didn’t let it dip, scoring 82 off 56 balls with six sixes.
The situation was on the other side of the spectrum against South Africa. The platform was laid, but the pitch slowed down drastically once the spinners were introduced. Iyer was 18 off 40 balls, soaking in the pressure before finishing with 77 off 87 balls. He fought it out against Keshav Maharaj (29 balls, 13 runs) but recovered against Tabraiz Shamsi (21 balls, 29 runs).
Facing New Zealand on Wednesday (November 15), India were trying to bat New Zealand out of the game. India’s batting framework in this tournament is based on Kohli anchoring the innings with others batting around him. On batting tracks like Wankhede, it becomes imperative for the other batter to keep going hard.
It would be harsh to say that Kohli batted slow, but given his role, his strike rate never touched soaring heights. That way, Iyer began with a strike rate of 115 in his first 20 balls and kept on pressing it forward. His 105 off 70 balls gave India those extra runs, which Kane Williamson called ‘a bridge too far’ after the semi-final defeat.
Hence, Iyer showing his diversity at number four has allowed Kohli to bide his time. His running between the wickets makes him a further favourite of Kohli to forge a partnership.
Ticking multiple boxes, Iyer has repaid the faith of the management that has backed players to the hilt. It might not have happened four years ago when India literally had a new number four every series between the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup.
The short ball may or may not be a problem, but it is probably time to let him breathe easy and enjoy a quintessential number four playing for the Men in Blue.
