Brendon McCullum made the most of his experience of working with Shreyas Iyer in the IPL as he plotted his downfall in the ongoing Test between India and England.
Shreyas Iyer’s struggle against short ball continued as he failed to deliver in the second innings of the ongoing Test too. The right-handed batsman was out for just 15 in the first innings when he edged a short delivery directed at his ribs by James Anderson to the wicketkeeper.
And an interesting sight was witnessed when Iyer came out in the second innings. Soon after he arrived, the cameras focused towards the English dressing room where their head coach Brendon McCullum was seated.
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McCullum was seen giving a few signals to the England players and it was not very difficult to understand what he was trying to convey. The former Kolkata Knight Riders coach was clearly asking his players to use short balls against Iyer. He even asked them to target the India batsman’s ribs with short deliveries.
Fans react to Brendon McCullum’s signals:
Brendon McCullum did not have to wait long to see the short ball tactics working against Iyer. In the 60th over of India’s innings, fast-bowler Matthew Potts sent back Iyer for 19 with a short delivery. He had the fielders set for his trap and Iyer fell right into it.
Potts bowled a short delivery to Iyer and the latter went for a pull shot. However, he failed to make a good connection and hit the ball straight at mid-wicket where James Anderson made no mistake in holding on to a simple catch.
And soon after Iyer departed, several fans took to Twitter to react to McCullum’s contribution in the dismissal. Several fans pointed out how McCullum’s stint with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL might have helped him recognise Iyer’s weakness. Iyer plied his trade for KKR in IPL 2022 with McCullum being the head coach.
Here are some of the reactions:
Ex KKR Coach Brendon McCullum instantly asked his pacers to go for the short ball trap against Shreyas Iyer. pic.twitter.com/F525R7u02Q
— Cricket is Love ❤ (@cricketfan__) July 4, 2022
#INDvsENG #ENGvIND #ShreyasIyer #EdgbastonTest
Brendon McCullum gave signal to bowl Short Balls when Shreyas Iyer came to bat.
Iyer to Ex KKR Coach : pic.twitter.com/MIJoGwxZJb
— g0v!ñD $#@®mA (@rishu_1809) July 4, 2022
Brendon McCullum having worked with Shreyas Iyer during the IPL knew exactly how to trap the batter. #IPL #KKR #CricketTwitter #ENGvIND
— Kunal (@kunaljoshi93) July 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/sidharth_hyd/status/1543908100645588992
Iyer to his coach pic.twitter.com/R9aRTMHNH7
— ICT Lover ??? (@SiddheshAmle) July 4, 2022
https://t.co/znWV2Fk3K6 pic.twitter.com/bbaEK5zvcb
— Pandemic Pep™️ (@afc_anubhav) July 4, 2022
Bazz to potts?✋ https://t.co/cUdnc0V7zX pic.twitter.com/qFPZ7XcUFf
— #SHEKHAWAT???????? (@Shekaw014) July 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/keyboardspamms/status/1543914320555278341
Brendon McCullum be like – #ENGvsIND #CricketTwitter #RishabhPant #ViratKohli #ShreyasIyer #Jadeja pic.twitter.com/OICye7h9QW
— The Sports Republic ?? (@SportsR3public) July 4, 2022