Shreyas Iyer made a resounding knock in the second match of the two games played between Australia and the team at the Adelaide Oval, on October 23. He lost some quick wickets of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, but joined skipper Rohit Sharma and got the innings back on track when the duo scored 118 runs. His calm 50-year run made India achieve a competitive total of 264/9, however, Australia pursued it with two wickets to spare.
After the match, Shreyas spoke about the changes in his batting technique that many fans had noticed. He said he’s been working on having a more upright stance to handle bounce better, especially on Australian pitches. The adjustment, made with his coach’s help, seems to have given him more confidence at the crease.
“Well, this technique which I’ve got lately, it’s not that I’ve changed over the time, but since last year, I wanted to have an upright stance where the bounce is a little bit more than expected. And based on that, I worked with my coach and we developed this new technique and it was kind of suiting me pretty well. And the way I grew up playing, it was very much that I predominantly had an upright stance,” Iyer said in the post-match press conference.
“And I just was like, let’s go back to my old technique and see how it paces up. So yeah, I backed myself and then from there on, I started in the domestic. And then till now, I’ve been continuing with the same stance,” he added.
Shreyas also discussed his partnership with Rohit, which provided India with a strong base for the second ODI. They negotiated a magnificent stretch of bowling from Josh Hazlewood, balancing caution and aggression.
“And talking about the partnership, I think it was very crucial, as you rightly mentioned. And we were just saying that let’s build the momentum towards us because he was bowling amazingly, Hazelwood, and the ball was seeming in and out. It wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on, especially at the start. So we just wanted to have an attacking approach at the start, but at the same time, it wasn’t easy to score runs. So we just decided to rotate the strike as much as possible and see to it that we come to a total where we feel that we can charge on the bowlers.
Shreyas Iyer emphasizes adaptability in batting approach amid Australia tour
Returning to his stance, Iyer stated that standing erect benefits him not only in Australia, but also on particular red-soil wickets in Mumbai that offer extra bounce. The 30-year-old stated that it is critical to adjust one’s stance based on the surface.
“Yes, absolutely. Even in Mumbai, when we play on red wickets, where the bounce is a little bit extra than expected, I think it helps with the upright stance. And, yeah, you’ve got to keep chopping and changing every now and then because you don’t play on the same wickets. Whatever the wicket demands, you’ve got to change your stance accordingly. And I think I’ve changed so many stance, I’m able to adapt anywhere at the moment. Just about one day cricket itself.”
Shreyas Iyer
