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Cricket Players'He's making habit of playing with tailenders like VVS': Ex-IND opener likens Iyer's 92 to Steve Smith's 2017 Pune knock
Iyer scored a magnificent 92 against Sri Lanka on the opening day of the pink-ball Test
Young Indian batter Shreyas Iyer scored a magnificent 92 against Sri Lanka on the opening day of the pink-ball Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that helped India finish with 252 on a tricky pitch. And following the knock, former India opener Wasim Jaffer compared Iyer to two cricketing greats.
India got off to a poor start after opting to bat first on Saturday before Iyer bailed out the hosts with his fiery 92 off 98 balls. And although he missed out on a well-deserved century, Iyer drew huge appreciation from veteran cricketers for his extraordinary knock.
When asked about which cricketer's knock does Iyer's 92 resembles, Jaffer, in conversation with ESPNCricinfo, admitted that Smith's brilliant century in the Pune Test against India in 2017 comes closest although he explained that the Aussie played under tougher conditions.
India vs Sri Lanka Live Score, 2nd Test, Day 2
“Even Rishabh Pant has played so many wonderful knocks in the recent past. So he is probably the closest one specially in this team. You can also go back to Steve Smith who scored that hundred in Pune. I mean this pitch is little bit better compared to Pune which was a bit more rigging pitch. But that knock does remind me of Iyer's knock. I would be really happy had he got that hundred. But he played wonderfully,” said Jaffer.
The veteran batter also hailed Iyer's ability to bat with tail-end batters like VVS Laxman did back in his days.
“He is making a habit of playing with tail-enders and bailing the Indian team out which is a very good sign for a batter who plays at No.5 or 6. VVS used to do a lot of that. He is doing a very very fine job,” he said.
Indian pacers, inspired by Jasprit Bumrah, who picked his maiden five-wicket haul in India, then bundled out Sri Lanka for 109, leaving India with a 143-run lead.