Shreyas Iyer nails freak direct hit to dismiss Michael Bracewell in 1st ODI

Indian vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is making his comeback in the ODIs after he missed the South Africa home series due to a laceration injury. On his return, Iyer has already made a game-turning impact even before he could take the bat in his hand.

India and New Zealand are up for an exciting series, which includes ODI as well as T20I matches. The ODIs started today at the Vadodara Cricket Association Stadium with India asking the Kiwis to bat first. This is the second consecutive toss India have won in an ODI game.

This New Zealand side is, however, not the best team, as they do not have their skipper, Mitchell Santner, playing the game and even their star batters, Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra are not part of the series in India for the 50-over format.

Shreyas Iyer’s bullet throw finds captain Michael Bracewell short of his crease

Daryll Mitchell and Harshit Rana are having a sweet little banter with the bat and ball, and also with some exchange of glances and words. During Rana’s one such over, when Mitchell dug out a yorker towards the long-on region and ran hard to complete a double.

Michael Bracewell, the captain, was running towards the danger end; however, the bowler was not in position, and by the time he would have reached Bracewell, he would have made his ground. But in an extraordinary effort, Shreyas Iyer made a direct hit on the stumps, and Bracewell was a long way out of his crease.

WHAT A THROW BY SHREYAS IYER. 🥶🔥pic.twitter.com/eGK95JP9di

— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) January 11, 2026

A moment of brilliance from Shreyas Iyer as Michael Bracewell is run out with a stunning throw#ShreyasIyer #RunOut #FieldingExcellence #INDvsNZ #CricketHighlights pic.twitter.com/iXCRlJiTLO

— Crux India (@crux_india_) January 11, 2026