IND vs NZ | KL Rahul was seeing the ball like a football, quips Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer, during the post match press conference, joked that when he asked KL Rahul, who scored 88* in just 64 balls, if he was seeing the ball like a football, the KXIP skipper just nodded and laughed. Despite Iyer scoring a maiden century, India were handed a four wicket loss in Hamilton.
After a decent start by the openers, Iyer and Virat Kohli navigated India through troubled waters in the middle overs to 156/2 before the Indian skipper was dismissed. While 300 looked like a reachable score, Iyer and Rahul stitched together a brilliant 102 run stand to help India post a score of 347 in their allotted 50 overs.
Even though Iyer stepped up his scoring rate as the innings progressed, it was Rahul who took the game to the Kiwis with some big hitting. In an innings that included 6 sixes and 3 fours, Rahul finished the first 50 with an unbeaten score of 88 off just 64 balls. Iyer, who scored his maiden century in International cricket at Seddon Park, was quick to praise his teammate for his performance.
“KL Rahul has been batting magnificently well and the way he is seeing the ball. When he came on to bat and hit the first six, I asked him, ‘Are you seeing the ball like a football,’ he just nodded and laughed over it. He has been in tremendous touch and there is a lot that I can learn from him as a batsman. The way he plans his innings and then takes on the bowler,” Iyer said after the game.
Even though India lost their first game of the tour, there is another Indian team that has been capturing the imagination of fans back home. The India U-19 team has been on a roll at the ongoing U-19 World Cup, breezing past teams in spectacular fashion. In the semi-final that took place on Feb 4, the Indian colts decimated arch rivals Pakistan by ten wickets to set up a final showdown against either Bangladesh or New Zealand.
“I couldn't see the semi final yesterday. But, I am really happy by the way they have been playing, especially defeating all the teams in one-sided contests. It’s a very good feeling. I have been a part of the U-19s as well so I know how good it feels to come to the finals and win it. Unfortunately, we did not make it in my year but I am really glad that this year’s U-19 batch have been doing amazing stuff,” Iyer added.
When asked about if his time back with the India A team, after playing for India, helped him in developing further, Iyer replied, “See India A games have always been helpful for me personally because whenever I went for them, I would ensure I would make the best use of all the matches that I got. The players and the atmosphere in the A games is also amazing and there is no pressure. Coming from the international level to the A level does not make you feel that you are completely away from the team because you always see similar faces around you.”
“In the India A team, it is not like I have to bat at No. 4 all the time. You keep changing your position depending on the situation. Manish Pandey was also there in the India A team when I was there and he is the No. 4 batsman in the A team. We call him a legend of India A so we can’t take his position. I keep maneuvering my place from 3 to 5. It’s just that we get good practice when we play A games.”