Despite India’s 8-wicket defeat in the first T20I against England, middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer said that the hosts will continue to play with more freedom but need to focus on executing the plans properly leading up to the T20 World Cup.
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On the eve of the T20I series opener in Ahmedabad, India skipper Virat Kohli had said that he expects his team to play a dynamic brand of cricket with the addition of fresh blood to the batting unit.
Asked if India’s approach will change after a heavy loss in the first game, Iyer at the post-match press conference said: “Definitely, it won’t change because if you see the batting line up we have and the power-hitters down the line, we don’t have to change anything to be honest.”
“We have come with a plan and we have to execute as much as possible because going into the world Cup we need to see to it that we have ticked all the boxes. This is a five match series, so it is a perfect time that we try different stuff and see what suits us,” he added.
For the England series, IPL and domestic performers like Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tewatia have earned their maiden India call-ups while in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has made a comeback.
Asked if he is under any pressure to perform, Iyer said: “I am in no sort of pressure to perform, I am playing freely, happily and enjoying my innings.”
On Friday (March 12), Shreyas Iyer came out to bat at No. 5 as Pant was promoted in the batting order.
“Coming into Indian team, you have to be flexible with which batting position you will be batting. I haven’t made any changes, it is just the mindset, what the team requires and batted according to the situation,” he said.
“It was a challenging situation, we had to keep playing natural game and keep ticking scoreboard irrespective of losing early wickets.”
Invited to bat first, India posted a below-par 124/7 in 20 overs. Iyer was the lone warrior with the bat, scoring 67 off 48 balls with 8 fours and a six.
“I have been in this situation before, been there in IPL, it is not the first time.
“I knew I will get odd boundaries, and momentum changes if get a partnership and then batters dominate bowlers, so from that point of view, their bowlers bowled well. It was their day and kudos to them.”
Asked the reason behind playing three spinners, he said: “We practiced on this surface before the match and when spinners were bowling, it was stopping and turning, very similar to two-paced wicket which we played on. The plan was to play three spinners, as that’s our strength.”
Sharing his thought process when he came out to bat with the team reeling at 20/3, Iyer said: “I knew Rishabh was hitting well, my thought was to just take singles. He was the dominator at the time and I decided I will play ball to ball before the spinners come on. ”
“It worked pretty well for me. They bowled 3 overs of Adil and I was waiting for that one over.
“It was difficult to take on the bowlers in initial phase but we had decided to go for 140-150 at that point of tim but we kept losing wicket so obviously it didn’t work our for us.”
(With PTI inputs)
