IND vs WI: Venkatesh Iyer Read The Situation Really Well: Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant was awarded the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 52 that allowed India to finish strongly at 186/5 batting first in the second T20I in Kolkata. He added 76 runs with Venkatesh Iyer (33 off 18) and India scored 80 runs of their final six overs with the youngsters scoring freely.

Rishabh Pant after winning the Man of the Match said that he was happy to bat wherever the team wanted him to at the post-match interaction with Harsha Bhogle. The southpaw then addressed the post-match press conference where he praised Venkatesh Iyer for the way he batted and spoke about giving him more chances. India are currently experimenting with Iyer in the middle-order. He is getting more opportunities with the bat than the ball in the games that he played so far.

Venkatesh Iyer Is A Mature Cricketer: Rishabh Pant

“When you come down the order, you know the situation. He (Iyer) is someone who reads the situation really well. We talked about keeping it simple and not trying too many things. The plan was simple, see the ball, hit the ball,” said Pant in the post-match press conference.

“He (Iyer) is a mature cricketer. He used to play down the order for MP. Yes, in the IPL he is opening, but we can’t be thinking too much about that. In the Indian team, we are just trying to find different positions for different people” Pant further said on Iyer.

West Indies needed 29 off the last two overs which came down to 25 off the final over. Harshal Patel was hit for two consecutive sixes but came back well going for just two runs in his final two deliveries. Pant also gave his view on how the final over panned out for India.

“After getting hit for two sixes, the talk was to try bowling outside off, but then he ultimately backed himself. There’s obviously pressure in the game, but as individuals, we tend to not think too much and just focus on our skill rather than thinking too much,” said Pant.

This win helped India gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and the final T20I will be played on Sunday at the same venue.

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