Iyer’s blitz sends Aus A bowlers on leather hunt, hands hosts 171-run win
Iyre’s run-riot left the Will Sutherland-led Australia A bowlers running for cover at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium
It had taken many by surprise when in-form batter Shreyas Iyer decided to take six months off from red ball cricket just before the selection of Team India for the two-Test home series against West Indies last month and that too after leading India A against Australia A in the first unofficial four-day Test in Lucknow.
In fact, the Mumbai batter has been experiencing back spasms and stiffness after his surgery and he didn’t play the second match at Lucknow, which India A won by five wickets with KL Rahul hitting a sparkling unbeaten century. Iyer was immediately named captain of the white ball team to play three-match unofficial one-day series against the same side here in Kanpur.
Rain washed out the first match on Tuesday, but when it was rescheduled for Wednesday, Iyre’s run-riot left the Will Sutherland-led Australia A bowlers running for cover, at the Green Park Stadium, as he struck a 75-ball hundred to help the home side crush visitors by 171 runs.
Opener Priyansh Arya (101, 84b, 11x4, 5x6), keeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh (56, 53b, 5x4, 2x6), Riyan Parag (67, 42b, 5x4, 5x6) and Ayush Badoni (50, 27b, 4x4, 3x6) too made merry, each hammering half centuries to guide India A post a mammoth 413/6 after being asked to bat first on the black soil pitch No 5 in a closed-door match as fans were not allowed on Wednesday.
In reply, Australia A despite making a solid start, lost wickets at regular intervals before being bowled out for 242 in 33.1 overs. Opener MaCenzie Harvey (68, 62b, 7x4, 2x6), Will Sutherland (50, 33b, 7x4, 2x6), Lachlan Shaw (45, 32b, 6x4, 2x6) and Cooper Connolly (33, 21b, 4x4, 2x6) tried their best but in vain.
It was young left-arm orthodox spinner Nishant Sindhu from Haryana, who created a web around Australian batters, bagging 4/50, whereas Ravi Bishnoi claimed 2/49.
Iyer, who stole the limelight in this year’s IPL with 600 runs for Punjab Kings with a crucial unbeaten 87 in Qualifier 2 match against Mumbai Indians, marked his return to 50-over cricket almost after six months in style, hitting an 83-ball 110 with the help of 12 boundaries and four sixes.
Iyer chose to hammer spinners like Tanveer Sangha and Todd Murphy most after hitting his first boundary on the 10th ball of his innings. While batting at No 3, Iyer walked in after a solid 135 runs opening wicket stand between openers Priyansh and Prabhsimran, survived an early chance when he was put down by wicketkeeper Lachlan Shaw off Sangha, but cashed in on this opportunity later with some eye-catching hits.
Though Iyer scored run-a-ball half-century with the help of seven boundaries, he then went after Australia A bowlers, scoring next 50 runs in just 25 balls with the help of four boundaries and equal number of sixes. Iyer and Parag added 73 runs for the fourth wicket.
The second match of the series will be played on Friday with Team India’s Asia Cup winning heroes Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma in action in a day/night game, which begins at 1.30 p.m.
BRIEF SCORES
India A 413/6 in 50 overs (S Iyer 110, P Arya 101, R Parag 67, P Singh 56, A Badoni 50, W Sutherland 2/73) beat Australia A 242 in 33.1 overs (M Harvey 68, W Sutherland 50, L Shaw 45, C Connolly 33, J Fraser 23, N Sindhu 4/50, R Bishnoi 2/49).
