Shreyas Iyer Believes Australia Is Experimenting To Build Momentum For World Cup

Shreyas Iyer believes that Australia is experimenting in the ongoing IND vs AUS ODI series to build momentum for ICC World Cup 2023. Shreyas Iyer also feels that Australia is playing games against India as practice matches.

Australia has lost the opening two ODI games against India. However, they have not played with their full strength in any of the games. For instance, key pacers like Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc were rested in the 1st ODI.

In the 2nd ODI, Josh Hazlewood returned to the playing XI but Pat Cummins took a break. In his absence, Steve Smith led the team in the 2nd ODI. Mitchell Starc has remained out of the series so far and is expected to be part of the 3rd ODI.

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Australia Are Experimenting: Shreyas Iyer

While speaking about Australia’s two losses during the post-match press conference, Shreyas Iyer said that he feels Australia are experimenting in the series to build momentum for ICC World Cup 2023.

“We know how the Australian team is. The way they plan their stuff, I am sure they are playing this as a practice match and they want to build momentum going forward to the World Cup, so they are experimenting. Also, they are giving chances to a lot of players so that they get a fair chance to see how the conditions are in India,” the 28-year-old said.

Australia Is A Highly Motivated Side: Shreyas Iyer

Iyer, who slammed a century in the 2nd ODI, also added that Australia is a highly motivated team and it’s always fantastic to play with them.

“At the same time, they play challenging cricket, so I am sure they would be planning pretty well in the future matches against India and also when I come into bat. So, I am never going to take them lightly as a team. They can hurt you at times. It’s always fantastic to play with them because they are highly motivated as a team and they lift up the atmosphere around,” Shreyas Iyer further added.

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Shreyas Iyer scored 105 runs off 90 balls in the 2nd ODI to win the player of the match award. With a 200-run stand with Shubman Gill, Iyer drove the scoreboard to 399-5 batting first.

Later, Australia were bowled out for 217 with 3 wickets each by Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Failing the chase down the DLS target of 317 in 33 overs, the visitors lost by 99 runs.

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Earlier, the men-in-blue won the 1st ODI by 5 wickets. With a 2-0 lead, India has already sealed the series before the 3rd ODI. The IND vs AUS 3rd ODI is expected to be an exciting one with the return of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav in India’s squad.