India’s star batter played a brilliant counter-attacking knock in India’s 4-wicket win over England in the 1st ODI of the three-match series. He scored 59 off 36 balls after India lost both openers early. Interestingly, Iyer wasn’t originally in the playing XI and only found out late at night that he was replacing an injured .
Speaking to broadcasters after the match, Iyer shared a funny story as he was watching a movie and planned to stay up late on next day. But then suddenly he got a call from Rohit Sharma, who told him that Virat had a swollen knee and wouldn’t play. Iyer immediately stopped his movie, went to sleep early, and prepared for the match.
“Funny story, I was watching a movie last night, and I thought I could extend my night. But then I got a call from the skipper saying that I may play because Virat has a swollen knee. And then I hurried back to my room, went off to sleep straight.”
Shreyas Iyer wasn’t part of the original playing XI; came in for an injured Virat Kohli #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/saiwxKr5Ga
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 6, 2025
India beat England by 4 wickets
England started well with a 75-run opening stand between Phil Salt and Ben Duckett but struggled later. Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell scored fifties, while Jofra Archer’s late cameo helped them reach 248.
India chased down England’s 248-run total comfortably, thanks to key contributions from Shubman Gill (87), Iyer (59), and Axar Patel (52). Earlier, Harshit Rana and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets each to restrict England. However, India won with 74 balls to spare, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
