Mumbai batsman Iyer puts Gavaskar's advice into action to notch up a double ton on Day 3 of the warm-up tie vs Oz
Shreyas Iyer of India 'A' celebrates his 200 vs Australia on the final day of the three-day game at Brabourne yesterday. Pic/Suresh Karkera
ADVERTISEMENT
India 'A' No. 4 batsman Shreyas Iyer put into action what legendary Sunil Gavaskar had adviced Mumbai's batsmen at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) last year.
After scoring a hundred against Bangladesh two weeks ago in Hyderabad, Iyer scored an unbeaten 202 against the Steven Smith-led Australian team at the Brabourne Stadium yesterday to remind the national selectors of his potential. Riding on Iyer's double ton and Krishnappa Gowtham's quickfire 74, India 'A' scored 403 in their first innings as the three-day game concluded in a draw. The visitors reached 104 for four at the end of day's play.
“Every time I bump into Chandrakant Pandit (the Mumbai Ranji team coach) at any function, I suggest him to tell his batsmen that they shouldn't be satisfied after scoring a ton or 120 or 130. They must convert those tons into 200 and 250s,” Gavaskar had told this reporter in March last year at the CCI.
Iyer, who resumed on his overnight score of 85, explained his gameplan during his double hundred. “I was just taking it session by session, splitting my score into 10 runs. It worked out well for me. Also, we kept losing wickets in between. So as soon as I reached 184 with one wicket remaining, I decided to attack and reach my double hundred in one over,” Iyer said.