‘These are guys who have different gears’ - Sanjay Manjrekar lauds Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul following their centuries against Netherlands

Both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were incredible in India’s last league game of the ongoing ODI World Cup against Netherlands. Batting at number four, Iyer smashed 128* runs in 94 deliveries while KL Rahul hit 102 runs, becoming the fastest Indian cricketer to hit a century in World Cup history. Courtesy of their batting, the Men in Blue posted 410 runs on board as India went on to win the match by 160 runs.

Speaking about them, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar mentioned that both these cricketers handle pressure well and release it by playing a big shot here and there. He also lauded them for rotating the strike beautifully in the middle and added that these two cricketers have different gears, and that’s the reason behind their success in the World Cup.

“The ideal man for India to have at that position and KL Rahul as well because these are guys who are not going to get under pressure because there have been four or five dot balls, and then you play a high-risk big shot to release the pressure.

“These are guys who will tick off the singles despite five fielders being inside the circle. These are guys who have different gears. The batting pedigree is showing - KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, everyone who plays Test cricket as well for India,” Manjrekar said while talking to Star Sports.

There is so much to admire and marvel at with this batting lineup: Manjrekar

All of India’s top five batters managed to score runs against the Netherlands, and that should give them a lot of confidence going to the semi-final. He mentioned that there’s talent in the Pakistan team as well but they haven’t reached their full potential yet unlike the Indian team, who have been all guns blazing in the tournament.

“There is so much to admire and marvel at with this batting lineup. Finally what comes to my mind is just the batting pedigree. These guys have batted a lot in different formats. All of them, I am not just talking about Virat Kohli, look like finished articles, unlike say Pakistan where you see the talent but they haven't quite reached the stage where they have mastered most aspects of batting,” Manjrekar said.