IND vs NZ | Team always decides before toss that we are going to chase, reveals Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer, who scored a 33-ball 44 in India’s win, has shared that the team always decides ahead of the toss that they will opt to chase. The 25-year-old also hailed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for setting an example for the youngsters through the way they take up chases in limited-overs.
The ongoing series is the first contest between India and New Zealand since the World Cup semifinal in July 2019 and India, a team that marvels at chasing in limited-overs formats, after having chased successfully in the first T20I, had the taste of victory once again while batting second on Sunday at the Eden Park in Auckland. No.4 batsman Iyer was the second-highest scorer in the game and was purely enjoying the chase while also being calculative about his approach. When asked whether the team always prefers chasing or not, the answer was rather direct and expected.
“We always decide before Toss that we’re going to chase because we know it’s our strength and we know that we back our strengths. And even if we bat first, we see to it that we asses the wicket really well and we decide, the openers they tend to set what we decide is a really good total on the wicket on that particular day given the conditions. But yeah, majority of the times chasing is going to be our main thing,” Shreyas Iyer said at the post-match press conference.
New Zealand won the toss and did the mistake of gifting India another chance to chase especially after the reality check in the first game. India had it much easier this time with the target being just 133 and the KL Rahul-Shreyas Iyer duo firing once again in the middle overs. Iyer revealed that the pair, that put up an 86-run partnership, knew that at least one of them had to stay till the end and functioned accordingly. New Zealand, quite predictably, used their spin duo of Ish Sodhi-Mitchell Santner in the middle overs and Iyer revealed that it was then that him and Rahul decided to share responsibilities.
“We just said [KL Rahul and Iyer] we have to keep going, we have to build partnership because either of us had to stay till the end. And since we knew they were going to bowl three on the trot I said that you gotta stay till the end to KL because I’m pretty confident playing spinners and I’ve done that in the past as well,” Iyer admitted.
“So it was a good challenge but at the same time it was important not to lose wicket at that time and our communication was going on really good. Apart from the running between the wickets. But yeah that was all our conversation was about.”
India hasn’t lost a single game while chasing since the World Cup semifinal, which they lost batting second against New Zealand. According to Iyer, it’s the calculative approach after knowing how many runs to score after the target is in front of you that helps the team. Moreover, captain Virat Kohli and opener Rohit Sharma have also set examples for the youngsters on how to approach a challenge like that.
While Sharma lays the foundation, it’s Kohli who always wishes to finish the game and stay till the end. Iyer has, thus, derived inspiration from them, something which keeps him going in the middle overs so that he can buy himself time to take on the bowlers after he’s settled in the innings.
“I personally feel that the team has an idea about how many runs to chase and at what run rate, you gotta chase them. And, you know, Virat Kohli is the perfect example when he goes out to bat and the way he plans his innings; I learn a lot from him personally. The way he grinds out and tries to finish the game, that’s the best part about him. And also Rohit Sharma, whenever given an opportunity, he makes the best use of it. So all these amazing characters in the game, in the team, they really set a good example for us - the youngsters,” Iyer cherished.
“There’s a lot to learn from them and that’s what I’ve been trying. I think that I have to stay not out and it really helps me grind throughout the middle overs and then when the time comes I take on the bowlers.”
On the occasion of Republic Day, Iyer also revealed how proud he was to be representing his country at the biggest level in cricket.
“Really proud to be part of this amazing country and participating in the biggest event of cricket. I’m really thankful and grateful to be a part of such an amazing team,” he signed off.
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