IND vs ENG 2025: Shreyas Iyer credits local cricket for fitness and form after batting blitz in Nagpur ODI

The hosts gained the lead in the series opener by defeating the visitors by four wickets, and the first ODI between India and England ended in their favour. Despite Shubman Gill’s outstanding 87-run knock earning him the title of “Player of the Match,” Shreyas Iyer’s innings set the tone for the run chase. When Team India had already lost its openers, Shreyas Iyer was notable for coming in at number four.

To put his team in a position to win the match, Shreyas Iyer, however, played an aggressive style of cricket and hit a crucial half-century (59 off 36 balls). For those who were not familiar with the Mumbai-based batsman, this was a much-needed return. He had been struggling since his central contract was cancelled for failing to prioritise domestic cricket. Rather, his preference was to play cricket in franchise leagues. But following an outstanding recovery against England in the opening ODI, the 30-year-old batsman has talked about how domestic cricket has affected both his conditioning and his general game.

Iyer was described by the Times of India (TOI) as saying, “To be honest, I played throughout the domestic season, and it taught me a lot and gave me a decent idea about how to approach my innings, the attitude I have to keep, and it’s just the mindset that I’ve improved over time.”

Additionally, from the perspective of skills, you must periodically improve, advance, and continue studying. He went on, “I believe I checked all the boxes correctly, and my fitness also played a significant role.”

On addressing short ball strategies, Shreyas Iyer

In addition, Shreyas Iyer’s batting in the past was beset by issues with handling the short balls. In the past, a lot of bowlers have used short balls to target Iyer since they believe it to be a weak spot for the Indian hitter. The batsman appeared to be ready to overcome the bouncer problem this time, though, after his spectacular innings in the Nagpur ODI. During his exciting knock, Iyer looked very at ease against the short balls and notably hit two sixers off them. In the same spirit, the middle order powerhouse talked about how he dealt with these problems in practice.

Iyer stated, “I didn’t decide that I would be playing in a particular way or that I would be changing anything, and I haven’t. As you can see, I was playing with a similar back lift and stance throughout the domestic series, and I obviously knew that if the bowler was bowling around 140-145, you would want to use the crease as much as possible and just use the pace and guide the ball in the gaps.”

“I assume you don’t have to deal with such fast deliveries in domestic cricket? In the net session, we ask the side-armers to attempt to use the pace and move as close to the body line as they can. I’m happy to report that I was able to do it well as well’, Iyer said.