Indian captain Shreyas Iyer called India's 2-0 series defeat in the recently concluded T20I series against Ireland depressing, asserting that they were outplayed by their opponent in every department. Majorly, India struggled in the batting department, with their top-class batters being unable to adapt to the conditions.
"It wasn't embarrassing, but it was depressing for us, because we definitely didn't expect Ireland to play that well. They outplayed us in every department; they had brilliant ideas about the dimensions of the ground, and we fell short in terms of analysing and planning the ground and the dimensions and how the wicket would be played. So kudos to them, credit to them, but we learnt a lot from that series," Iyer said at the press conference.
India now have an opportunity to bounce back during the five-match T20I series against England, beginning on July 1 at Chester-le-Street. And Iyer expressed optimism that his side is well prepared to fight back against any challenge.
"This is completely a new chapter for us coming in here. A couple of us have played in England before, and we know the conditions, we know the ideas, we know the dimensions over here. So looking forward for an intense and challenging series," he said.
Iyer himself had an underwhelming outing against Ireland, managing scores of 3 and 10, respectively.
"The way I'm timing the ball in the nets, even in the previous game, I thought I was timing brilliantly; just the odd ball bounced and took an inner edge. That doesn't justify how my batting is or how much pressure I'm taking."
"I definitely believe in my instincts. I know how well I play under pressure. So, I just want to keep that faith in me and go forward in the upcoming matches," Iyer stated.