Got heads up from team management that I am designated No 4, says Shreyas Iyer

News Network
November 11, 2019

Nagpur, Nov 11: The talented Shreyas Iyer has been given a "heads up" by the Indian team management that he will be the designated No 4 batsman in white-ball format after a string of impressive performances in the past few months.

India tried umpteen players at the number four spot in the lead up to the 50-over World Cup but none of them could cement their place in the team and it was used as a floating position during the mega event as the experiment with Vijay Shankar falling flat.

For me personally, they (team management) have given me a heads up that 'You'll be there at No.4. So just back yourself and believe in yourself'," Iyer, who smashed 62 off 33 balls including five sixes in the T20 series decider against Bangladesh, told mediapersons after the match.

"It has been a really important last few series for me to set the benchmark at the No. 4 position, which all of us are competing for at the moment," said Iyer, who scored a couple of half-centuries batting at No 5 in the ODIs against the West Indies.

Iyer will have to be one of the "finishers" in case team's top two batsmen skipper Virat Kohli and deputy Rohit Sharma are dismissed cheaply.

"Even if Kohli and Rohit get out, we need someone to finish the game and bat till the end.' That is a No. 4's role. That's what I was trying to replicate today and it worked out really well for me," said the 24-year-old, who has overcome the disappointment of missing out on ODI World Cup berth.

Asked how significant his knock was considering that team is trying out fringe players like him ahead of the World T20 next year, Iyer said: Yes, obviously there is lot of competition going in the team. I personally feel that I compete with myself. I don't want myself to be judged with anyone or when you say that this position is empty in the team.

While he will be batting at number four for some time now, Iyer is flexible and ready to bat at any position that the team wants him to.

"I am really open-minded and can bat at any number. So I just like to back myself in tough situations and today's innings showed that I can bat under pressure as well.”

In the final T20, Iyer went ballistic after being cautious at the beginning. Four of his five sixes came against the spinners and his knock allowed India to put up a defendable 174 for five.

"The support staff have given me the freedom -- not just me but all the batsmen -- that you need to have that intent when you go in there. And you should feel very positive when you're batting. If the ball pitches in my area, I am not going to control myself. I'll bat according to my instincts."

Iyer was dropped on 0 and if it wasn't for his innings, India would have struggled to reach 160. With the dew setting in the evening, it would have been a tough total to defend. The Mumbai batsman said it was one of the turning points of the game.

"The over in which I got three sixes shifted the momentum in our favour otherwise we would have finished with 150 of 155.

"It would have been a really tough to defend that total on this wicket where there was a lot of dew and pitch was getting better for batting. I would really give myself credit and also KL Rahul for the way he gave us the start," said Iyer.

According to him, the other major moments of the game were Deepak Chahar, who took a record breaking six-wicket haul including a hat-trick, taking two wickets in his first over and rookie Shivam Dube dismissing a well set Mohammad Naim and Afif Hossain off consecutive balls in the 16th over.

Iyer admitted that India were feeling the pressure when Bangladesh were going strong at 110 for two in the 13th over, chasing 175.

"We were going a little bit lethargic I would say at the start and once they got going Rohit recalled all the players inside the circle and gave us a pep talk, which was really motivating and after that we were really determined to win the game."

Iyer added that dew was much heavier in Nagpur than Rajkot and Delhi.

Talking about Chahar, who did not open the bowling and instead bowled more in the second half of Bangladesh innings, Iyer said:"I was also really surprised when we didn't start with him. I was actually asking one of our teammates at that point.

"It worked out for Deepak, coming in and picking up two wickets at a crucial time. He's been playing for so many years now. He's gained experience, and I feel he's a very confident lad. Currently, he's one of the main bowlers in the team."

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Sydney, Jan 6: Nathan Lyon captured five for 50 and 10 match wickets as Australia crushed New Zealand by 279 runs on Monday, capping a golden domestic summer as they swept the three-Test series.

The off-spinner led the powerful Australian bowling attack to dismiss the Kiwis for 136 and seal another heavy win over the Black Caps after similar victories in Perth and Melbourne.

Australia have been unbeatable this season, winning all five Tests at home -- two against Pakistan and three against New Zealand -- after retaining the Ashes by drawing the series 2-2 in England.

"It's been a great summer for the Australian Test side," Lyon said.

"It's pretty special to be part of it, we have been impressive, pretty clinical, the batters have done well and given us bowlers plenty of time."

Australia declared their second innings at 217 for two with David Warner scoring an unbeaten century, leaving the Black Caps with a revised 416-run target in the fourth innings on a wearing Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

But the Kiwis buckled under the pressure of Australia's superior bowling attack with Mitchell Starc taking three for 25 to support the wiles of spinner Lyon.

"They were clinical in all areas and after the first match they put us under pressure session after session," said skipper Kane Williamson, who missed the Test with a virus.

New Zealand were reeling early at 27-4 and never recovered after Starc and Lyon took two wickets each in the middle session to put the skids under the tourists.

Starc removed both openers, Tom Latham and Tom Blundell, in the first five overs. Blundell fell to a stunning catch by a diving Lyon at point for two and stand-in skipper Latham lost a review for leg before wicket.

Jeet Raval was out in a review to the faintest of edges on 'Snicko' in Lyon's first over for 12.

First-innings top-scorer Glenn Phillips went for a duck after technology detected a faint outside edge to wicketkeeper Paine off Lyon.

Taylor's Kiwi record

Ross Taylor became the leading all-time Kiwi batsman, going past Stephen Fleming (7,172) before he was bowled by Pat Cummins for 22 to take his Test aggregate to 7,174.

Big-hitting Colin de Grandhomme smacked Lyon for six to bring up his fifty but went next ball hoicking to Joe Burns at deep mid-wicket for 52.

Todd Astle was out to a superb diving catch by James Pattinson in the outfield for 17.

Starc yorked William Somerville's middle stump for seven and BJ Watling was the last to fall, caught at backward square leg by Pat Cummins for 19.

Earlier, Warner completed his 24th Test century and remained unbeaten when skipper Paine declared upon the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne.

"You know you're capable of doing so," Warner said, when asked about how he had bounced back from his disastrous Ashes campaign in England last year.

"I was in the nets hitting the ball well and had the skipper backing me. To be able to play with freedom helped me. It's all paying off."

Labuschagne, who was dropped on four in a regulation caught-and-bowled chance by leg-spinner Astle, was caught at long on off Matt Henry for 59 -- his seventh score over 50 in eight innings this domestic summer.

Labuschagne finished the home five-Test season with a stunning aggregate of 896 runs, made up of his 215 in the first innings, three other centuries and three half-centuries in eight innings.

There was drama late in the Australian innings when Warner was given an official warning by umpire Aleem Dar for running down the middle of the pitch in scampering a single.

It resulted in five penalty runs being added to New Zealand's first innings total meaning their target was revised down from 421 to 416.

The Test was played against the backdrop of one of Australia's most devastating bushfire seasons with at least 24 people losing their lives in blazes raging across the country, including on the outskirts of Sydney.

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Agencies
February 25,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 25: India opening batsman KL Rahul will be available for Karnataka's Ranji Trophy semi-final clash against Bengal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 29.

Rahul had asked to be rested from Karnataka's quarter-final match but is now available for the climactic stages of the Ranji Trophy. 

Karnataka had already been strengthened by the addition of Manish Pandey for the quarter-finals, with both Pandey and Rahul having returned from New Zealand after India completed the limited-overs leg of their tour, ESPNcricinfo reported.

Last year's finalists Saurashtra will take on Gujarat in the other semi-final at Rajkot. The other prominent players who will be part of the last four include Parthiv Patel (Gujarat), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra) and Manoj Tiwary (Bengal).

Gujarat, Bengal, Karnataka, and Saurashtra had finished on top of the combined Groups A and B table, and all four progressed to the semi-finals after dominating their respective quarter-final matches.

Rahul has been phenomenal with the bat in the limited-overs series against Australia and New Zealand. He scored one century and four fifty-plus scores in his last ten innings in ODIs and T20Is combined

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