Since you were in beast mode, and in your zone, I didn't want to intrude: Shreyas Iyer to Ishan Kishan

A couple of nights back, Team India roared high on the blistering blitzkrieg of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan to register a sumptuous win against the visitors that also saw them levelling the series.

Shreyas Iyer has been savouring some impeccable form, as his last ten knocks have been a burning ode to his brilliance. The most important aspect of his heroics has been that he has been pulling these off under various different circumstances.

He brought up his second ODI century in the second ODI against South Africa, and it was the culmination of all the top performances that he has stitched in the last few games, showing signs of maturity. However, the most riveting factor of the second contest in the series was the chemistry shared by Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in their long-standing partnership that tiptoed India to the gates of a famous win.

Talking about the partnership, Shreyas said, “I just came and took some knocking yesterday [Saturday], but I was disappointed when you missed out on your hundred. I just wanted to talk to you and communicate pretty well, but since you were in beast mode, and in your zone, I didn't want to intrude on your privacy. Nonetheless, we won the match, and it takes two to tango. I'm really happy that we finished on a good note and probably in the next game, you might get a century.”

Once Kishan was removed, Iyer brought out the big guns and started playing those strokes comfortably without any ado. Despite facing some stiff challenge from Kagiso Rabada, he took it face first and eventually turned the heat back on the visitors. Once he completed his century, he had a frenetic burst of celebration, denoting all those pent-up emotions that he had stifled in him for a long time.

Raving about his frenzied burst of aggression, Shreyas revealed, “The celebration was nothing much, it just came instinctively. I didn't decide that I'd be celebrating in a certain way, but I want to appreciate the crowd. They came out in numbers and the atmosphere was electrifying. I was excited about the contest, as you mentioned, about the wicket, how it's going to play, I just applied in my mind in a similar fashion and things turned out pretty well for me."

Both Iyer and Ishan Kishan would hVe given the selectors plenty of headaches as the Men in Blue hope to sort out their final 15 for the 50-over World Cup at home in 2023.