Victory against Pakistan was not enough for Shreyas Iyer who believed that India should have finished the game much earlier.
Victory against Pakistan is supposed to be good news right?
However, it was not enough for Shreyas Iyer, who wanted to finish the game much earlier than it actually ended.
“Can you just tell me how many overs were left?” Shreyas Iyer asked journalists, right at the top of his press conference. “Forty-five balls? Okay.”
“I think we could have won a bit earlier. It would have been a convincing win.”
India didn’t seem to be having any problems throughout their 242 chase, and Pakistan didn’t seem to have any chance of reaching a score that would challenge India during the first innings.
Iyer had to contend with legspinner Abrar Ahmed throughout his innings. Ahmed was the most economical bowler for Pakistan, taking 1 for 28 in his ten overs. A brilliant delivery to Shubman Gill claimed that one wicket.
Iyer had some good things to say. “I think Abrar bowled brilliantly. It was important and crucial for me to play out that spell and rotate the strike at the same time. It took some time and then once my eyes were set, I thought that sweep and reverse sweep would have been a great option to put them on the back foot. And I think that worked pretty well for me.
“It wasn’t easy to take charge against Abrar. In that particular phase, it was important to take singles as much as possible and take the team to the end. Once we reach 30 or 40 runs, it is easy to charge on from there.”
Experts pointed out that Iyer didn’t appear to have any trouble with short deliveries during his century against Pakistan.
Although they used a different strip from the one they used to play Bangladesh, this is India’s second Champions Trophy match in Dubai. Iyer’s progress was further hindered by the bowlers who took pace off the ball.
“As we know, even in the previous game we played over here, the wicket is a bit slow,” he said. “It’s spinner-friendly, of course. The amalgamation of all their bowlers and the experience they possess brings a lot of clarity to their bowling.”