AUS vs IND | Twitter groans as Shreyas Iyer's passionate blinders leaves his body broken

India put up yet another brilliant middle overs bowling display, in the third ODI against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, to restrict the hosts from 63/1 at the end of the powerplay to 206/7 with 10 overs to go in the innings. Washington Sundar emerged as the standout bowler with figures of 2/44 from his full quota of overs, scalping set batters Matthew Short and Matt Renshaw at both ends of his spell. Harshit Rana added to the misery by accounting for Alex Carey in the midst of the spin bowling chaos, albeit he might be liable to credit his success to Shreyas Iyer for holding onto an improbable catch that cost the middle-order batter dearly.

On the fourth ball of the 34th over, Carey tried to break free after a 37-ball struggle for 24 runs by slamming a length Rana stock ball down the ground. However, the wicket-keeper batter was left in an awkward stance and off-balance culminating in a thick outside edge that sent the ball hurling in Sydney sky towards third man. Iyer, stationed within the circle at backward enough, was alert enough to anticipate that the Kookaburra would make it fall in no man's land and sought to remedy it by turning around in a jiffy and sprinting backwards while peering over his shoulder to keep track of the ball. However, the white rock seemed to be winning the race, but just as it was about to dip onto the deck, Iyer put in a despairing lunge with his back towards the pitch in a last ditch effort to complete tthe catch. Luckily for him, Iyer had judged the trajectory perfectly as the ball settled between his palms but the quickness of it all meant the veteran was not braced for impact. Iyer took to the surface with a crushing impact, his right side banging into the surface without any cushioning as the batter immediately held his ribs and grimaced in pain instead of celebrating arguably the catch of the series.

The physios were quick to come on and help a hobbling Iyer off the field, even as Rohit Sharma shared a few encouraging words with the vice-captain, and Twitterati were eager to laud Iyer's sacrifice despite his recurring injury struggles.

Iyer Magic ✨

Injured!

Hope He’s Fine

Unreal Grab!

Superb!

Recover Soon 

💔

Heroic Catch!

Stunning!

Brilliant!