Is it the latent anger that has driven Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer to shine in the second half of India’s dream campaign in the ongoing ICC World Cup? A hypothetical question, especially since anger doesn’t really matter in this sport, but it could certainly have stimulated their egos to produce exciting performances.
A day after India secured their final date and Virat Kohli became the first batsman to score a 50 ODI century, the accolades are still unabated. In a country descended from batting icons like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, idolatry comes naturally, sometimes at the cost of losing sight of the team’s purpose.
In this context, Iyer’s breezy innings of 105 at a strike rate of 150.00, his second consecutive century, was even more important than Kohli’s record-breaking tons as it gave the home side a crucial buffer against the 70-odd runs in the final over. The 28-year-old, who had a questionable start to the show due to a lingering back injury, became the third Indian batsman after Kohli and Sharma to complete 500 runs in the tournament.
news source (www.nationalheraldindia.com)
