Shreyas Iyer fails again in Australia, upset fans prefer Manish Pandey in ODI side

The Indian cricket team's woes relating to the No.4 batting position in limited-overs cricket is known to all. The issue has been exposed further with the side's dismal performance in the Australia series. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, there has been added pressure for someone like Shreyas Iyer to step up. However, fans have raised questions regarding his selection in the team after the batsman's ordinary outings. 

Shreyas Iyer's misery in Australia continues 

The cricketer garnered praise from all corners for his lionhearted performances in the 13th edition of the Dream11 Indian Premier League, both as a batsman as well as the captain of the Delhi franchise. The season was also his personal best in terms of runs scored as he amassed 519 runs in 17 matches. Considering his current form, there were high expectations from the player for India's white-ball assignments in Australia.

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It was rather disconcerting to see the player failing to break the shackles as he succumbed under pressure against the imposing Australian bowling attack. In the first encounter of the tour, Shreyas Iyer visibly looked uncomfortable while tackling a short-pitched ball, and was sent packing by Josh Hazlewood for 2 runs. He got off to a decent start in the second ODI, however, failed to capitalize on it and could only manage to score 38 runs.

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With India already having lost the series, they were playing to salvage their pride in the final fixture. Shreyas Iyer had one more opportunity to silence his critics with an impactful knock, however, his poor run continued. It was Adam Zampa who got the better of the 25-year-old. Iyer could only score 19 runs, and fans questioned his inclusion in the side over Manish Pandey despite his failures in the first two encounters. 

India vs Australia 3rd ODI: Shreyas Iyer falls to Adam Zampa 

India vs Australia 3rd ODI

The final ODI contest between the two sides commenced at Manuka Oval, Canberra on Wednesday. Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first. India have made several changes into their line-up for the match with T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur, Shubman Gill and Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Mayank Agarwal and Yuzvendra Chahal. The hosts have outplayed India in all departments so far, and India will look to produce a spirited performance to gather some momentum ahead of the T20Is and Test matches.

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India vs Australia live

Fans can catch India vs Australia live matches on the Sony Pictures Sports Network (SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 3 and SONY SIX). The India vs Australia 3rd ODI will commence from 9:10 am IST. The live streaming of the match will also be made available on the SonyLIV app and website. 

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Image source: AP