Shreyas Iyer has had a lukewarm campaign in the 2024 Duleep Trophy. Under his captaincy, India D lost their first game to India C, with Iyer scoring only 63 runs in the match. In the second game of the tournament against India A, he was dismissed for a 7-ball duck. However, he ended the day on a high note as he pulled off a stunning moment in the last over.
Shreyas Iyer stuns Mayank Agarwal with first-ball wicket
India A’s Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh had built an opening partnership surpassing 100 runs, and breaking it seemed to be a challenging task. Then skipper Shreyas Iyer decided to roll his arm over, and he broke the 115-run partnership with the very first ball he bowled. He delivered an off-spin delivery at half-volley length to Mayank Agarwal.
It was an inviting delivery, tempting Mayank to go for the drive. However, he mistimed it, sending the ball straight back to the bowler. With some effort, Shreyas Iyer managed to grab the return catch. The joy was evident among the India D players, while Agarwal was left regretful after playing the shot. He might have chosen to defend the ball to save his wicket, especially with the end of the day approaching.
Shreyas Iyer took wicket on the very first ball 😭 pic.twitter.com/k431kzOKfz
— Yash. (@105of70Mumbai) September 13, 2024
This is Shreyas Iyer’s 5th wicket in his first-class career, the first one since 2018. Earlier, Iyer had a different action that resembled Sunil Narine’s. However, Shreyas hasn’t taken his bowling seriously and thus is seen bowling rarely. He has bowled 8 overs for India and remains wicketless. In the IPL, Shreyas Iyer’s only over came in the 2022 season during the KKR vs DC match.
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Talking about the match, with the fall of Agarwal’s wicket, the umpires called stumps for the day. After Day 2, India A is in a much stronger position, leading by 222 runs with 9 wickets in hand. Saving this match from here will be a tough task for India D. They will aim to restrict Mayank Agarwal’s side as quickly as possible, as chasing a 350+ total in the fourth innings won’t be easy.