India batter Shreyas Iyer admitted that “it’s not easy to directly come from India and play here” after India’s defeat against New Zealand.
Shreyas Iyer Praises Kane Williamson
As per India tour of New Zealand 2022 India will play 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs between November 18 – 30.
In the first ODI match, winning the toss New Zealand opted to bowl first, and let India to bat first. Openers Dhawan and Gill made an impressive start and scored 124 runs for the first wicket. Gill departs for 50 while Dhawan walks to pavilion after scoring 72 runs.
With Shreyas Iyer’s impressive 80 runs India crossed 300 runs and ended up scoring 306 runs for 7 wickets loss at the end of the 50 overs.
“The situation we were in and from there to reach 307 is a commendable total. Definitely, some things didn’t go our way today but its a learning curve, we can introspect, come back with new ideas in the next game,” he said in the post-match press conference.
The right-handed batter said India can’t afford to get trapped by their defeat in the first ODI match against New Zealand.
“It’s not easy to directly come from India and play here. Wickets keep on changing in every place and this is a challenge which you need to face. You have to be mentally strong, just have to adapt to the situations,” Iyer said.
He went on to praise Kane Williamson and Tom Latham for their unbeaten partnership which leads New Zealand to defeat India in their 307 runs partnership.
“Both of them (Latham and Williamson) played fantastic knocks. They knew which bowlers to target at a specific time. I believe their partnership completely changed the scenario of the game and that was a crucial phase for us to get wickets.
“If we would have got one wicket we would have been under their skin and the situation could have been completely different. But kudos to them that they found the strength to convert those loose balls into boundaries and sixes. They were fearless in their approach and I feel that’s what helped them,” Iyer added.
Chasing a required run rate of over eight, Latham spanked Shardul Thakur for 25 runs in the 40th over that include six and four boundaries that shifted the momentum of the match.
“The way Latham took over that over (40th), I think that completely shifted the momentum towards them. He wanted to come in and he wanted to build that partnership. Since they have been playing together for so many years so they know their strengths and weaknesses pretty closely,'” Iyer said.
On personal front, Iyer said that he is always in his own zone and hardly pays heed to the talk in the outside world.
“Approach is always optimistic. I don’t like to think much about the future, whatever is in my hands I do and try to live in the present. Players will come and go but consistency is what is going to matter. Ups and downs are in everyone’s career, there is nothing called stable. When people are talking outside, I just like to be in my zone and that’s what helps me.
For him, the biggest learning is how Latham started his innings. “The learning from this match is that when we got a wicket we could have created more pressure. If we could have curbed Latham’s start definitely we would have been on top of them,” he added.
The second ODI match of the India tour of New Zealand 2022 will be played on Seddon Park, Hamilton,
