Mitchell Starc relentlessly targeted Shreyas Iyer with short-pitched deliveries throughout the Adelaide day-night Test, exposing a known technical weakness and forcing a cat-and-mouse battle that defined the first session of India's batting.
Shreyas Iyer's well-documented vulnerability to the short-pitched delivery has been a talking point in Test cricket since his international debut. Australian pace bowlers had specifically identified this weakness before the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series, and Mitchell Starc was tasked with executing the plan in the pink-ball conditions of Adelaide.
Starc, bowling with the pink ball under lights in what was a day-night Test, deployed a sustained short-pitched attack. The ball skidded on quickly under the floodlights — naturally rising to Iyer's body and throat when pitched short. Starc's angle from over the wicket and his ability to swing the pink ball even at 140km/h made him particularly dangerous.
Iyer's response was a mixture of awkward survival and the occasional forcing shot that showed his talent. He was beaten more than once, fended off balls that climbed into his gloves, and looked distinctly uncomfortable against balls directed at his ribcage. When Starc eventually had him caught off a short ball — fending to gully — it was the culmination of a prolonged, pre-planned dismissal.
The verbal exchanges between the two were minimal — this was a technical battle more than a sledging war. But the body language told its own story: Starc's knowing smile each time Iyer struggled, and Iyer's visible frustration as his limitations were so publicly exposed. The match — which Australia won under lights — reinforced India's selection dilemma around Iyer in helpful conditions.
Starc targets Iyer immediately with short-pitched deliveries under lights
Pink ball skids onto Iyer's gloves — beaten multiple times
First dismissal: fended short ball to gully — exactly as Starc planned
Iyer struggles in second innings too against sustained short ball attack
Australia win the day-night Test — India's batting collapses questioned
“We had a plan and we executed it. Short-pitched bowling under lights with the pink ball is always going to be challenging. Shreyas had some good moments but we got him out the way we planned.”
“Every batsman has areas they're working on. I know what I need to improve and I'll keep working at it.”
Iyer's place in India's Test XI came under sustained scrutiny after Adelaide. Selectors faced pressure about his selection in conditions outside the subcontinent. The short-ball weakness — known since his early Tests — was once again front and centre of Indian cricket debates.
No disciplinary action. Technical battle won by Starc — Iyer dismissed twice in the Test for scores that did not justify his place in the XI under these conditions. India lost the pink-ball Test.
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