“Shreyas Iyer has again shown how good he is” - Dinesh Karthik wants batter’s contributions under pressure to be valued
Veteran Indian keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has made a passionate plea to give Shreyas Iyer due credit for his contributions under pressure and not question his credentials after a couple of failures. Karthik opined that the Mumbai batter had come up with some significant performances when the heat was on, with the knock in Dhaka on Sunday, December 25, being the latest instance of the same.
Shreyas scored an unbeaten 29 on Day 4 of the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday. Chasing 145, India had lost seven wickets for 74 runs. However, Shreyas and Ravichandran Ashwin (42*) added an unbroken 71 for the eighth wicket to take India home.
Earlier, the right-handed batter had scored 87 in the first innings, adding 159 runs for the fifth wicket with Rishabh Pant (93) after India had lost four wickets for 94 runs. Praising Shreyas for delivering the goods under pressure, Karthik told Cricbuzz:
“Shreyas has been magnificent throughout the series. One of the toughest challenges in a Test match is in a fourth innings, when you are chasing down a score against all odds. Shreyas Iyer has again shown how good he is.
"We should never forget these kinds of facts when we discuss about him in the near future. When he gets out a couple of times, we say he should not be a part of the Test team because others outside look really good.”
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Shreyas ended the two-match Test series against Bangladesh as the second-leading run-getter with 202 runs in three innings at an average of 101.
“A calm and composed knock, giving no chances” - Karthik on Shreyas Iyer’s second-innings effort
While Ashwin ended up being the dominant partner in the eighth-wicket stand, it was Shreyas who held things together after India lost three early wickets on Day 4.
Asked what stood out about the batter’s innings, Karthik explained:
“(It was) a calm and composed knock, giving no chances. He was making sure he was consistently taking those singles. The moment the field was up, he knew there was an opportunity and he pounced on it. The guy under pressure constantly delivers.”
The keeper-batter also backed India’s move to promote left-handed batter Axar Patel to No. 4 in the second innings and opined:
“Team India sending Axar at 4 was a good calculated move. I think he defended the best up until Shreyas came. He comfortably defended both the left-arm spinners and the off-spinner. Those 34 runs were worth their weight in gold. It’s the pure batters who need to have a look at their game when the ball is turning.”
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Axar scored a handy 34 before being bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He also claimed three wickets in Bangladesh’s second innings.