"No one plays spin better than him in this team" - Mohammad Kaif lauds Shreyas Iyer's knock in India's 2023 World Cup win vs South Africa

Mohammad Kaif has lauded Shreyas Iyer's knock in India's 2023 World Cup win against South Africa and opined that the Mumbaikar is the best player against spin in the Men in Blue's lineup.

Shreyas scored 77 runs off 87 deliveries as Rohit Sharma and company set the Proteas a 327-run target in Kolkata on Sunday, November 5. The hosts then bundled out Temba Bavuma and company for a paltry 83 to complete a resounding 243-run win.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Kaif was asked about his thoughts on Shreyas' knock, to which he responded:

"He plays spin exceptionally well. I have worked with him in the IPL. In my opinion, no one plays spin better than him in this team because he takes single and doubles as well, and hits sixes straight down the ground."

The former India batter picked the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper's ability to dominate spin as his biggest strength. He said:

"We saw him hitting a 106-meter six in the last match at the Wankhede. In the middle overs, when spin creates pressure with dot balls, he finds boundaries there. That is his strength."

Kaif added that Shreyas didn't let the South African spinners settle in Sunday's game, saying:

"No matter how good the bowlers are in the middle, the runs don't stop from his willow. Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj were there but he kept on dancing down the track and hitting boundaries and kept putting pressure on the bowlers."

Iyer struck seven fours and two sixes during his innings. Although he wasn't too aggressive against Keshav Maharaj, he took the attack to Tabraiz Shamsi, who ended up conceding 72 runs in 10 overs on a spin-friendly track.

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"He made batting slightly easier for Virat" - Mohammad Kaif on Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli strung together a 134-run third-wicket partnership. [P/C: AP]

Mohammad Kaif pointed out that Shreyas Iyer's ability to hit timely boundaries also helped Virat Kohli's cause. He said:

"He made batting slightly easier for Virat because when he wasn't getting boundaries in the middle, Shreyas Iyer was hitting boundaries there. So he relieved the pressure slightly on Virat's batting."

Kaif highlighted that Iyer has also improved his game against fast bowling. While observing that people say that he has a weakness against the short ball, he added that the middle-order batter played a few fantastic pull shots in Sunday's game.