"The world could see the trap. But not Shreyas Iyer." - Fans slam Iyer for once again being dismissed by the short ball on Day 4 of 5th Test vs England

Shreyas Iyer couldn't handle the barrage of short balls bowled at him on Day 4. (P.C.:ecb.co.uk)
Shreyas Iyer couldn't handle the barrage of short balls bowled at him on Day 4. (P.C.:ecb.co.uk)

Shreyas Iyer's weakness against the short ball was exposed by England once again as the 27-year-old ended up chipping one straight into the hands of mid-wicket on Day 4 (July 4) of the Edgbaston Test.

The trap was set and Iyer was probably aware of it. Still, he decided to take on the short ball and paid the price for it after a 26-ball 19.

Iyer was being peppered with short balls consistently and certainly didn't look comfortable at the crease. England captain Ben Stokes put a ring of fielders on the leg side and asked Matthew Potts to continue bowling into the pitch.

Shreyas Iyer took the bait and mistimed it straight to James Anderson, who took his 100th catch in Tests. England players and coach Brendon McCullum had a smirk on their faces as they knew they had absolutely bossed Iyer during his short stay at the crease.

Fans on Twitter were disappointed to see Iyer not having worked enough on his weaknesses. Some also trolled him and deemed him not good enough in bouncy conditions.

Here are some of the reactions:


Shreyas Iyer's wicket underlines England's fightback

India were well ahead in the game with a lead of 257 runs and seven wickets in hand going into Day 4. Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant looked solid in the first few overs and threatened to form a big partnership.

Pujara perished after hitting a wide delivery from Stuart Broad straight into the hands of Alex Lees at gully after a well-made 66. Shreyas Iyer got together with Pant and the duo began to tick the scoreboard over at a decent pace.

After taking out Iyer, England's pacers continued their short-ball tactics against other batters too. Rishabh Pant also fell to the bait thrown at him in the form of Jack Leach as he could only find Joe Root in the slips after scoring 57 runs.

Shardul Thakur couldn't resist the short ball ploy either and was caught down at fine leg. Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami are still at the crease and have taken India's lead past 350.

India will be looking to cross the 400-run mark to gain a psychological advantage over the hosts.

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