Kohli, Iyer And India's Steely Chain Of Middle-Order Stands

One manoeuvres the ball into gaps, the other hits boundaries against spin. Together against New Zealand, they exemplified India's building blocks in the World Cup

- Vivek Krishnan

August 11, 2019. It's a low-key series in the Caribbean less than a month after the agony of a World Cup semi-final exit against New Zealand in Manchester and Shreyas Iyer strides in at 101/3 in his first one-day innings in more than one-and-a-half years.

This is an ideal opportunity for Iyer to impress on his comeback and show he can be a prominent part of India's plans at the start of a fresh four-year cycle. More so because Virat Kohli, his captain, is batting at the other end. Iyer is just seven ODIs old, but far from overawed on a sluggish Port of Spain surface, he makes 71 and stitches together a 125-run stand with Kohli as India win by 59 runs. Kohli is impressed enough to say what he does after the game. "Shreyas is a confident guy, he's got the right attitude.

Good hands. He made it easier for me." This was the dawn of the KohliIyer alliance, one that has blossomed beyond expectation in the four years that have passed. So much so that theirs is the most successful partnership in this World Cup, with 537 runs in eight innings at an average of 76.71. It includes two century-plus and three fifty-plus stands, contributing significantly to India's rampaging run to the final on Sunday.