Indian batter Shreyas Iyer continued his purple patch as he scored a match-winning knock of unbeaten 113 runs off just 111 balls in the second ODI against South Africa at the JSCA International Cricket Complex, Ranchi on Sunday.
This was Iyer’s second ODI hundred and he has scored four fifties and a century in his last six ODI innings. The Mumbai batter added a fine alliance of 161 runs with local lad Ishan Kishan and got India over the line in the run-chase of 279 runs.
In a conversation with his batting partner, Ishan Kishan, Iyer said he didn’t want to intrude on the left-hander’s privacy as he was batting in beast mode. Kishan scored a brilliant knock of 93 runs off just 84 with the help of four fours and seven sixes. The southpaw changed gears after scoring his fifty and scored the next 43 runs off just 24 balls after reaching his personal milestone.
“[About my] preparation, I just came and took some knocking yesterday [Saturday], but I was disappointed when you missed out on your hundred,” Iyer told Kishan, who was dismissed for 93, in a chat on the BCCI’s website.
“I just wanted to talk to you and communicate pretty well, but since you were in beast mode, and in your zone, I didn’t want to intrude on your privacy. Nonetheless, we won the match, and it takes two to tango. I’m really happy that we finished on a good note and probably in the next game, you might get a century.”
Meanwhile, Iyer brought up his century with a boundary against Kagiso Rabada and then looked to the skies before taking the applause of the crowd and his teammates.
Speaking on his celebration, Iyer said, “The celebration was nothing much, it just came instinctively.”
“I didn’t decide that I’d be celebrating in a certain way, but I want to appreciate the crowd. They came out in numbers and the atmosphere was electrifying. I was excited about the contest, as you mentioned, about the wicket, how it’s going to play, I just applied in my mind in a similar fashion and things turned out pretty well for me.”
The third ODI will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Tuesday.
