'He is next Virat Kohli' - Twitter in awe of Shreyas Iyer after his heroics in Vizag ODI

Team India made a roaring comeback to the three-match one-day series against the West Indies courtesy a power-packed batting performance. Having been forced to bat first after Kieron Pollard won the toss and decided to put India in, the Men in Blue knew that they had to virtually bat the West Indies out of the game, considering their rollicking batting line-up, the placid nature of the pitch and the threat of dew in the second half.

And, they did just that. Rohit Sharma scored his eighth 150+ score in One-Day cricket while KL Rahul creamed his way to a sumptuous hundred to set a 227-run base for the shenanigans of middle-order to take over and build a mountain on it. But, it is not Rahul’s hundred or Rohit’s 150 but the way that youngsters like Shreyas Iyer and Risabh Pant took up the mettle and helped the Men in Blue to post 5/387 in 50 overs, that would have given both the team-management and the fans in general utmost satisfaction.

Especially Shreyas Iyer. India’s nemesis in One-Day cricket ever since Yuvraj Singh fell out of favor has been the absence of a solid No.4 batsman who can play according to the match situation. India missed that during the 2019 World Cup and paid heavily for it with a semi-final defeat to New Zealand.

Shreyas Iyer hammers the opportunity down as far as batting at No.4 is concerned

And, Shreyas Iyer gives you that confidence. The right-hander- apart from being a very solid technically correct batsman boasts of the primary requisite for a player to be a successful middle-order batsman- Temperament. And, he has shown that on a plethora of instances in his 11-match career.

The past three ODIs are an apt example of Iyer’s prowess at No.4. In the last ODI during India’s tour of the West Indies and the Vizag ODI, Iyer came into bat when the Men in Blue needed quick runs and continue with the tempo while in Chennai, India needed him to dig deep and take the team out of the precarious position of 3/80 along with Pant.

What did Iyer do in each of those innings? He played according to game-situation and racked up a half-century in each of those games. Iyer has shown enough evidence of why he should be India’s No.4 in white-ball cricket and considering his consistency, fans have already started to compare him with King Kohli. Iyer had a brilliant game in Vizag.

The right-hander not only scored his fourth consecutive half-century but also inflicted a sensational run-out of the danger man Shimron Hetmyer.

Here’s how Twitter reacted