Shreyas Iyer last 10 innings: The Indian vice-captain counterattacked from the word go under testing circumstances tonight.
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India fell short by 9 runs in the recently concluded first ODI against South Africa in Lucknow. However, a valiant batting performance will be remembered for vice-captain Shreyas Iyer (50) and wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson (86*) scoring fighting individual half-centuries.
Not among the biggest of partnerships by any angle but a 54-ball 67-run fifth-wicket partnership broke the shackles at a time when India had slipped into a shell.
With neither of their Top Four batters striking at more than 55, it was Iyer who was brave enough to play his shots from the word go. It was at that exact time that South African spinners, Keshav Maharaj in particular, were making full use of the conditions by turning the ball square at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Realizing the demand at hand with needing to score around nine runs per over, a courageous Iyer stepped out of his crease to hit Tabraiz Shamsi for a boundary down the ground. A rally of boundaries followed soon as the right-handed batter hit six of them on the next 13 balls that he faced. An array of shots, including a couple of lucky ones, saw Iyer dominating both Shamsi and pacer Lungi Ngidi.
Iyer, who hit a total of eight fours at a strike rate of 135.13 in his 50 (37), reminded one of his match-winning counterattacking half-centuries in India vs Sri Lanka second Test match on a rank turner in Bengaluru earlier this year.
Shreyas Iyer last 10 innings in ODI (updated on November 3, 2023)
Iyer, who played an impact-generating ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 knock against Sri Lanka at his home ground in Mumbai, has scored 372 runs in his last 10 ODI innings at an average and strike rate of 46.50 and 104.78 respectively including a century and two half-centuries.
Since his return from an injury which kept him away from the sport for a lot of months, these 10 innings had started during a three-match series against Australia in September.
| Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Opposition | Ground | Year |
| 82 | 56 | 3 | 6 | Sri Lanka | Mumbai (WS) | 2023 |
| 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | England | Lucknow | 2023 |
| 33 | 29 | 6 | 0 | New Zealand | Dharamsala | 2023 |
| 19 | 25 | 2 | 0 | Bangladesh | Pune | 2023 |
| 53* | 62 | 3 | 2 | Pakistan | Ahmedabad | 2023 |
| 25* | 23 | 1 | 1 | Afghanistan | Delhi | 2023 |
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Australia | Chennai | 2023 |
| 48 | 43 | 1 | 2 | Australia | Rajkot | 2023 |
| 105 | 90 | 11 | 3 | Australia | Indore | 2023 |
| 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | Australia | Mohali | 2023 |
With in-form wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan warming the bench, Iyer will have to remain consistent in the upcoming matches in order to put an end to doubts around his spot.
