Shreyas Iyer’s 82 was one of the vital cogs that powered India to an overwhelming triumph against Sri Lanka in the World Cup game at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.
Having stepped in with previous scores of 0, 25 not out, 53 not out, 19, 33 and 4 so far in this campaign, Shreyas needed a big knock and he precisely did that to build upon the good work that Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill had done at the start of the innings.
Understandably, Shreyas was a pleased and combative man in the post-match press conference.
“I took the bull by the horns. I got my starts in the earlier games but in this one, I decided that if the ball was in my arc, I would go big and I did that and it worked,” the batter said.
RELATED: Shreyas Iyer becomes joint-second fastest Indian to score 2000 ODI runs
He bristled when queried about his alleged problem against short-pitched bowling.
“I play my shots, I play the pull and when you play your shots at times you do get out and I am prepared for that but I guess since I was dismissed over a few pull shots, this whole narrative was built. I back myself, I have enough experience and the team believes in me,” Shreyas said.
As for missing a ton, he countered, “Dilshan Madushanka was bowling well, he was mixing it up, bowling a few slower ones, and this particular delivery was a bit wide from my body.
“In the end, you want to score runs for your team and aren’t looking at personal milestones. Yes, I missed one today but I may get a chance in the remaining games.”
And is he relieved that he doesn’t have to face the troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami? With a big grin, Shreyas said, “Yes it is a relief, but then we do play against them in the nets and it also gives us added motivation when we step out to play.”
Comments
SHARE