Mature Iyer underlines importance in Mumbai set-up

"Khadoos khelna, Khadoos, khelna" his team-mates yelled from the dressing room. The words echoed across the empty stands at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Shreyas Iyer looked up briefly, as if to suggest he didn't know what the fuss was about. He had just been dropped in the slips by Arpit Vasavada. An over prior to that, he was beaten twice, with the outside edge missed by a coat of varnish. Did it seem to have a bearing on him? Hardly.

Two balls after the drop, he walked down the pitch and waltzed the ball over the bowler's head for six. Then, he unfurled a delightful back-foot punch and a whiplash over midwicket. Before Saurashtra knew what had hit them, Iyer had raced away to 51 in the team's total of 66 for 2 at lunch. And thus began the run-fest for a better part of the next three hours, where the swagger in him surfaced in all its glory. The end result: a finely-crafted century in a Ranji Trophy final, that helped Mumbai gallop ahead, before a middle-order collapse somewhat pushed the game back in balance.

For someone who struggled to make the cut immediately at any of the age-groups for Mumbai, it's amazing how Iyer has quickly emerged as a key figure in the batting line-up, even though he doesn't agree with the suggestion that he's the pillar around which the batting revolves. The reaction after bringing up his century - looking up to the heavens, soaking in the applause of his team-mates - suggested the maturity of the 20-year-old, who, in only his second season, has underlined his importance in the Mumbai set-up.

After all, walking in at 0 for 1 on a green top, and then bringing up a 114-ball 100 is no joke, this after easily missing three hundreds that were there for the taking this season. With every run he scored, he was nearing a landmark. More than the runs he's made this season - 1321 runs at an average of 73.80 - the manner in which he has made them, with a strike rate of 92.70, indicate the kind of dominance that hasn't always been a common sight among young batsmen in the domestic circuit in recent times.

His dismissal left him just 95 runs short of VVS Laxman's record for the most runs in a Ranji Trophy season. With so many numbers flying around, it's hard not to wonder if the young man is even bothered about statistics. "No, not at all," he sheepishly smiled. "But yes, it's a good feeling. I had heard of Wasim Jaffer's record, but I didn't know the numbers. I've learnt that you should never be satisfied with what you achieve. You should be hungry all the time, and try to break your own records instead of looking at someone else's record."

Iyer's refreshing honesty and straight answers, much like the way he bats - without half measures - is different, and unlike the norm where players seem to border on platitudes. "It's a good challenge, but I wouldn't say I enjoy batting on pitches like these," he laughed, again, catching everyone who was expecting a serious answer off guard. "It was tough to bat on this wicket. The ball was seaming right from the start. I decided to play on merit, and fortunately I was able to score well right from the start."

When asked to dwell a little more on his mindset, he offered: "I back my instinct, that's a good thing about me. As a No. 3 batsman, you have the responsibility of taking the team forward. It's a good feeling to get a century in a pressure game like the final. That's where people remember you as a big-match player. I was thinking (about missing few 100s that were there for the taking), but today I decided as I approached the nineties that I will play the same way, like I did till that point. I didn't want to change my approach.

"Usually wickets are really good, there's no dew factor as well. The fielders are also not up to the mark at times as the day progresses, so it can get a little boring at times when you're fielding. But as a batsman, it's a great advantage if you can score runs during that period. My mindset when I go out to bat is that I have to dominate the bowlers. So that helps the field spread out later, and then I can take the singles to keep the scoreboard running. It's good for you and the team."

What about the regret of missing out on a daddy hundred? Or perhaps the regret of playing the shot at the time he did, with Mumbai running away with the game? "It was a predetermined stroke, I guess that was the fault I made," he said in a manner that suggested he didn't quite regret it. "But many of my sixes I've hit in the past have been predetermined too. It was important to back my instincts. I shuffle according to how the wicket behaves. If the ball is seaming, I've got three to four initial movements. I wouldn't say I wasn't timing the ball today. I was still hitting boundaries, so that's what matters."

A tally of over 2000 runs combined in his first two seasons mean talks of national selection are inevitable. "I've said this before too. It doesn't bother me if the selectors are watching or no," he insisted. "I just want to keep doing my job. Whatever result I get, I'm happy."

Surely the runs have come about because of someone's advice. It was even suggested to him that Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid may have played a part in shaping him. "I can't take a single name, yes I've spoken to them," he said. "Yes, all of them have helped me, but a majority of the credit goes to me because I have worked hard. Many of them give you advice, you have to just listen to yourself and keep performing."

As he finished facing the media, there was finally a sense of accomplishment on his face. Not because of the runs he had scored, but because he had proved to someone, who has seen him from the age of 11, that he could rise to the big occasion.

"Pravin Amre messaged saying I should score a century in the knockouts. I think I proved him right."