IND vs SL: Once I Got My Eye In, I Thought I Would Keep Going - Shreyas Iyer

Indian batter Shreyas Iyer played a stunning knock in the first T20I against Sri Lanka to ensure that India reached the total they were looking for after the first wicket stand.

Iyer was promoted to No.3 in the absence of Virat Kohli, who has been rested for the T20I series. He made the most of it, scoring 57 in 28 balls and propelling the target to 199/2 in 20 overs. In the end, it was 62 runs too many for the Lankans as they were restricted to 137/6.

“My start was slow but it wasn’t easy. But once my eye got in, and once I got a boundary, I thought I would keep going. Ishan too was losing patience, so I told him to take his time and then he again started timing well.”

“It’s a huge ground, especially after playing at Eden Gardens. We had planned to run a lot of twos and eventually our every plan came off. I was trying to stay in present. I thought 180 would be a good total. I just focused on watching the ball closely and tried to time it well,” Iyer said after the first match.

“Tried to bribe Bumrah for an over but didn’t work” – Shreyas Iyer

Iyer jokingly revealed that he tried to get Jasprit Bumrah to give him the ball after India was sure to win the game. Regular captain Rohit Sharma had to go out of the field for a short time. Bumrah, who was named as the vice-captain, took over the responsibility.

“I had already put my hand up [to bowl]. Around the 16th over when he (Rohit) went, he had already told Bumrah these are the bowlers who need to bowl. I tried to bribe Bumrah to give me an over but it didn’t work (laughs),” Iyer said.

India’s 62-run victory was their tenth successive win in T20Is. They are now one short of Afghanistan’s all-time record streak of 11 wins in a row.

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