India Vs Australia 2nd ODI: Virat Kohli One Of The Great, No Chance Of Stealing His Position, Says Shreyas Iyer

Team India batter Shreyas Iyer was the 'Player of the Match' in the 2nd ODI against Australia in Indore on Sunday after scoring his third century.

Team India batter Shreyas Iyer celebrates after scoring century against Australia in Indore. (Photo: AP)

Team India batter Shreyas Iyer hammered his third ODI century in scintillating fashion in the second ODI against Australia at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday. Iyer, who has been out with back injury for more than 6 months – since a Test series against Australia earlier this year, scored his first ODI century in almost a year (350 days).

Iyer’s third ODI century came at the coveted No. 3 position with former India captain Virat Kohli rested for the first two game against Australia in this series. However, both Kohli and regular skipper Rohit Sharma will be back for the third and final ODI match in Rajkot on Wednesday ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 which gets underway next month.

Iyer was named the ‘Player of the Match’ after Team India hammered Australia by 99 runs (DLS method) to win the 2nd ODI and series 2-0.

“It was a rollercoaster ride, feeling fantastic. My teammates, friends and family were there for my support. I was seeing the matches on TV, I wanted to be out there and participate in the matches,” Iyer said after the second ODI on Sunday.

“Grateful to be believing in myself. The pain and niggles kept on coming, but I knew what I was aiming for. I am glad that I was able to execute my plans perfectly today,” Iyer added.

Sublime hundreds from Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer set the base for India's mammoth total in Indore _#INDvAUS_: https://t.co/pO3kSaXW6C pic.twitter.com/ba6V0a9XQJ

— ICC (@ICC) September 24, 2023

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain made a comeback into the Indian team after recovering from injury which kept him out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 during the Asia Cup 2023 earlier this month. Iyer played in India’s Group A match against arch-rivals Kandy, but the game was washed out due to rain. He also featured in the second game against Nepal.

However, the Team India batter was ruled out of the Super 4 matches and the Asia Cup 2023 final after recurrence of back spasms ahead of the Super match against Pakistan. Iyer failed to get going in India’s five-wicket win over Australia in Mohali in the first ODI last week.

“Basically when I went in to bat, I didn’t want to complicate things. I wanted to get my eyes set, that's how I give confidence to myself. I am flexible, ready to bat any position, whatever my team needs me to do. Virat (Kohli) is one of the greats, there’s no chance of stealing that (number 3) spot from him. I just need to keep scoring wherever (at any position) I bat,” Iyer said when asked about replacing Kohli at the No. 3 position.

Team India will play the third and final ODI against Australia in Rajkot on Wednesday.