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

The first ODI between India and England ended in favour of the hosts who took the lead in the series opener by beating the visitors by four wickets. Though it was Shubman Gill who ended up being the 'Player of the Match' for his great knock of 87, it was Shreyas Iyer’s innings that set the tone for the run chase. Notably, Iyer came in at number four when Team India had lost their openers early.

But an unfazed Iyer played an aggressive brand of cricket and scored a vital half-century (59 off 36 balls), to put his team in a position to win the game. For the unversed, this was a much-needed comeback for the Mumbai-based batter who had been facing problems after his central contract was terminated because of not giving importance to domestic cricket. Instead, he preferred to play in franchise league cricket. However, after making an impressive comeback against England in the first ODI, the 30-year-old batter has opened up on how domestic cricket has made an impact on his overall game along with his fitness. 

“To be honest, I played throughout the domestic season, 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 a period of time," Iyer was quoted as saying by Times of India (TOI). 

“Also, from the skills point of view, you need to upgrade yourself, elevate, and keep learning every now and then. I think I ticked all the boxes right and also my fitness played an important role," he continued. 

Iyer on tackling short ball tactics 

Furthermore, another matter of concern which plagued Iyer's batting in the past was dealing with the short balls. Many bowlers in the past have targeted Iyer with short balls considering it a weak link of the Indian batter. However, with his explosive knock in the Nagpur ODI, the batter was seemingly well prepared this time to overcome the bouncer dilemma. Notably, during his thrilling knock, Iyer smashed two sixes off the short balls while looking quite comfortable against them. In the same vein, the prolific middle order batter opened up on how he tackled these issues during practice.

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“I didn't decide that I would be playing in a particular way or I would be changing something, I haven't, throughout the domestic series as you see, I was playing with a similar back lift and stance and I, obviously if the bowler is bowling about 140-145, you would like to use the crease as much as possible and just to use the pace and guide the ball in the gaps, that was my mindset,” Iyer said. 

“In domestic cricket, you don't get to face that quick deliveries, right? So, the side-armers which we play in the net session, we ask them to go on the body line as much as possible and try to use the pace and I'm glad that I was able to execute it well too," Iyer concluded.