Ranji Trophy: Shreyas Iyer smashes 100 off 101 balls, his second First Class ton on the trot

Shreyas Iyer, the Indian middle-order batsman, has been absent from the Test team since India’s tour of England in January. He is now making significant progress in the domestic Ranji Trophy, achieving consecutive centuries for his Mumbai team.
Mumbai’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage depend on a victory in this match. Shreyas Iyer’s return strengthens the team after he missed the match against Tripura to rest his shoulder. In his previous appearance at BKC last month, Iyer scored his first century against Maharashtra.
Continuing his strong form, Shreyas Iyer impressed once more by registering his second century in the ongoing match against Odisha. Shreyas reached his century in style with 14 fours and 2 sixes. Shreyas Iyer smashed his 15th first class century in 101 balls.
Mumbai is in a commanding position against Odisha in their current match, ending the day at 385 runs for the loss of just three wickets.
This strong position is largely due to a significant partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Siddhesh Lad. The pair put on an unbroken 231 runs for the fourth wicket. Lad remains not out on 116, constructed from 234 balls and including 14 fours.
Iyer, meanwhile, was the more aggressive of the two. Shreyas went on to score 152 runs in 164 balls which included 18 fours and four sixes. This powerful performance saw Mumbai take control of the game by day's end.
Mumbai got a good start from Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who narrowly missed his maiden century by eight runs. He was given an opportunity as Prithvi Shaw was left out due to fitness concerns. However, Odisha struck back, taking two consecutive wickets after dismissing a well-set Raghuvanshi and Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane for a duck.
In the Elite Group C fourth-round match between Kerala and Uttar Pradesh at St Xavier’s College Ground, Kerala’s all-rounder Jalaj Saxena achieved a remarkable double. He became the first player in Ranji Trophy history to score 6,000 runs and take 400 wickets.
Having already surpassed the 6,000-run mark in Kerala’s previous match in Kolkata, Saxena reached this historic milestone by dismissing left-hander Nitish Rana. His sharp off-spin delivery resulted in Rana being stumped, securing Saxena’s fourth wicket of the game.
This accomplishment places the 37-year-old Saxena as the 13th bowler in Ranji Trophy history to claim 400 wickets. His 400th wicket also marked his 29th five-wicket haul in the prestigious tournament.
Representing Delhi against Chandigarh, Yash Dhull displayed impressive form, reaching a century. He was run out after scoring 121 runs.