Flamboyant India batter Shreyas Iyer looked like a man on a mission, as he smoked the biggest six of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 so far at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Iyer belted a 106-metre monster six during the India vs Sri Lanka game, which surpassed Glenn Maxwell's 104-metre maximum earlier in the tournament. (Highlights | Scorecard | Pics | Report | Points Table | Full Coverage)
Iyer in currently involved in a healthy battle for a spot in India's middle-order with Suryakumar Yadav. With ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya out due to injury, both the dashing batters - Iyer and Yadav - are featuring in India's XI for now. But once Pandya recovers fully and returns, one of the two is likely to make way for the seam-bowling all-rounder.
Yadav had scored a breezy 49 in the previous game against England, and Iyer came out with a vengeance on Thursday to make his case stronger. The belligerent hitting he is displaying will help him, and the massive six was a delight not just for him, but also for the crores watching intently. You can check out the video of Iyer's gigantic six below.
Earlier, India batting lynchpin Virat Kohli fell agonisingly short of equalling his idol Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries. Kohli was dismissed after essaying a fabulous 88-run knock and combined with Shubman Gill in a pivotal 189-run partnership to take India to a strong position. The home team were batting at 255/3 after 39 overs at the time of writing, with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul at the crease.
Kohli walked out to bat in the very first over, as captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed off the second ball of the match with a lovely off-cutter from left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka. Kohli and Gill had to endure a testing period early on, with Madushanka's new-ball partner Dushmantha Chameera coming up with a splendid initial burst. The right-arm fast bowler bowled back-to-back maiden overs to keep India's attacking batters tied down.
But as is their wont, Kohli and Gill eventually got going and the runs began to flow. The surface seemed a bit two-paced as the batters were repeatedly found checking their drives. But the duo bade their time in the middle and began milking singles to relieve the pressure. As they got settled and grew more conversant with the conditions, Kohli and Gill took toll of bad balls and coupled it with some strong running between the wickets to take India to a commanding position.
