India batter Shreyas Iyer scored a brilliant double hundred for Mumbai on Day 2 of their fourth-round fixture of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 against Odisha at Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, Mumbai. The right-handed batter played a magnificent innings of 233 off 228 balls smashing 24 fours and nine sixes and registered his highest first-class score.
Iyer resumed the day on the overnight score of 152* having already slammed his 15th first-class hundred on Day 1. He continued from where he left off and completed his double hundred off 201 balls and also surpassed his previous highest first-class score of 202 in no time.
The 29-year-old walked to the crease with Mumbai on 154/3 after they were put in to bat first by Odisha captain Govinda Poddar. Iyer joined Siddesh Lad at the crease and the duo got involved in a massive 354-run partnership for the fourth wicket and helped Mumbai cross the 500-run mark. Lad also brought up his ninth first-class hundred as Mumbai flexed their batting muscles against Odisha’s hapless bowling attack.
It was Iyer’s second consecutive century in the tournament having already scored a brilliant 142 in the last fixture he played against Maharashtra. It was also his 1st first class century after a long gap of almost three years with the last one coming against New Zealand on his Test debut in Kanpur, 2021.
Iyer’s tumultuous 2024
After his splendid knock against Maharashtra, Iyer missed the next game against Tripura to get some rest and returned against Odisha to register his highest score of first-class career. He didn’t have a memorable beginning to the domestic season, managing just 154 runs across six innings in the Duleep Trophy, 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. The Mumbai batter hasn’t had the best of the years as he was dropped from the Indian Test squad and also lost his BCCI Central Contract earlier this year. Hence, the twin centuries will do a world of good to Iyer’s confidence who’s aiming to earn his spot back in the Indian Test team.
