Trouble for Virat Kohli as Shreyas Iyer's Nagpur innings vs England labelled the best ODI knock

Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar showered praise on Shreyas Iyer for his counter-attacking performance during the first ODI of the series against England. Sanjay Manjrekar described Iyer’s fifty as one of his best ODI knocks, adding that the batter was the most effective player of the match.

Shreyas was included in the playing XI after Virat Kohli's knee injury before the match. The batter came to the crease when the team was in a challenging position at 19-2 in the sixth over while chasing a target of 249. Iyer successfully shifted the pressure onto England, dispatching Jofra Archer's short balls.

Shreyas Iyer Scored 59 Runs off 36 Balls in India's Four-Wicket Victory

The 30-year-old looked in great form before being dismissed by Jacob Bethell in the 16th over while playing a sweep shot. He scored 59 runs off 36 balls, including nine fours and two sixes. England captain Jos Buttler highlighted Iyer's partnership with Shubman Gill as the key turning point in the match.

India chased down the target of 248 runs, with four wickets and more than 11 overs to spare. With this win, they take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against England. The second ODI will be held in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9. This is India's final ODI series before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

His Best One-Day Innings That I Have Seen - Sanjay Manjrekar

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar praised Shreyas Iyer’s performance against high-quality bowling in the series opener. Manjrekar noted that Iyer’s backfoot game was impressive, adding that the batter displayed a range of orthodox shots.

"Not only was he effective, but he was damn good. His innings was just high quality, he did not put a foot wrong. I know it was not a big hundred, but it has to be his best one-day innings that I have seen," Manjrekar said.

"This was just Shreyas Iyer, reacting to high-quality bowling. He seems to have worked out a beautiful backfoot game. He's always been a backfoot player but had the tendency to open up, which he is not doing anymore. You saw all the shots possible, and there was a lot of orthodox-sy as well," he added.

There is Some Connection with Him Playing Those Domestic Matches - Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar attributed Shreyas Iyer's impressive performance to his recent participation in domestic cricket. Iyer had led Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy while being out of the red-ball side.

"The way he batted today, just the technique and the ball hitting that was happening, it was very very compact, and very good innings like a well-oiled machinery. If domestic cricket has helped him to just get into the groove, then all the arguments that we are hearing about the big names not playing domestic cricket, here's an example," Manjrekar said in the same discussion.

"Because Shreyas Iyer, the way he played, I'm sure there is some connection with him playing those domestic matches," he concluded.

Also read: Shreyas Iyer exposes Rohit Sharma-Gautam Gambhir politics after being inducted at the last moment