Shreyas Iyer scores back-to-back hundreds for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy 2024
Indian batter Shreyas Iyer is making a statement in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024 for Mumbai. The 29-year-old notched up back-to-back hundreds as he scored a ton against Odisha at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy. Iyer waited for almost three years to score his first-class hundred last month. Despite taking a break in the last Test against Tripura, Iyer practiced hard in the nets and added another hundred to his kitty in the very next innings. Iyer dominated the ordinary display of bowling by Odisha to reach the three-figure mark in 101 balls. This was Iyer’s 15th first-class hundred and 2nd on the trot in Ranji Trophy 2024.
Mumbai started off well with Angkrish Raghuvanshi scoring 92 and narrowly missing out on his maiden Ranji hundred. Captain Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed for a golden duck and opener Ayush Mhatre also managed just 18 runs. However, Iyer and Siddhesh Lad continued to take on the Odisha bowlers and shared a 150-plus run stand.
Iyer makes a statement
Iyer is making a strong case for himself after being out of the Indian Test side since the home series against England earlier in 2024. His previous first-class hundred came for India against New Zealand in November 2021 during the Kanpur Test, and now he has already scored two.
The century comes as a much-needed boost for Iyer, who has struggled with form since the start of the 2024-25 domestic season.
Shreyas Iyer’s Test career revival?
In the Duleep Trophy, he managed just 154 runs across six innings, with two half-centuries and two ducks. In the Irani Cup, playing for Mumbai, Iyer’s performances remained underwhelming, scoring 57 and 8 across two innings. He also recorded another duck in Mumbai’s opening Ranji Trophy match last week against Baroda.
Iyer, along with wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan, was excluded from the BCCI Central Contracts list earlier in 2024. The exclusion came after both were deemed to have skipped domestic matches. Iyer cited back and groin pain as the reason for his absence from Ranji games.
Iyer’s hundred in the Ranji Trophy will prove to be a confidence booster as he looks to revive his domestic and Test career.
