Team India batter Shreyas Iyer dispatched Jofra Archer to the boundary to reach his half-century in the second ODI against England at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday, July 16.
Iyer, who has been in good form on this tour, looked positive right from the word go. He looked comfortable against both pace and spin and played some gorgeous-looking shots on his way to fifty.
The Mumbai-born cricketer reached the landmark in the 34th over when he pulled a short-pitch delivery from Jofra Archer over the fine leg fielder. It is his first half-century since his 61 against Australia in Adelaide in October last year. Iyer went eight innings without scoring a fifty since then, until this match.
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Iyer shared a run-a-ball 67-run partnership with Virat Kohli to put India on top after they lost a couple of wickets in quick succession.
Notably, the Men in Blue were asked to bat first after Harry Brook won the toss in Cardiff. Indian skipper Shubman Gill failed to capitalize on the start and got out to Gus Atkinson.
Rohit Sharma and Kohli shared a decent partnership, but the former looked jittery and was eventually dismissed by Adil Rashid. Ishan Kishan, who was promoted ahead of Iyer, also walked back soon after. From here on, Iyer and Kohli shared a 50+-run partnership to bring India back on track.
India lose grip after Virat Kohli’s untimely dismissal
Team India looked poised to post a big total with Kohli and Iyer batting in full swing. However, Kohli’s untimely dismissal in the 32nd over changed the course for the visiting side.
The Men in Blue lost four wickets in quick succession to go 193/7 from 178/3 in a span of just a few overs. Saqib Mahmood dismissed Washington Sundar, while Jofra Archer dismissed Axar Patel and Shivam Dube in consecutive deliveries to put India on the back foot.
At the time of writing, the Men in Blue were 194/7 in 37 over with Iyer and Gurnoor Brar in the middle.
Edited by Ankush Das