Indian captain Shreyas Iyer found his form back with a blistering knock during India's rain-hit first T20I against England. Iyer was under great pressure following low scores of 3 and 10 in the preceding two-match T20I series against Ireland. However, he made his comeback brilliantly, firing a valuable 68 from 47 deliveries in the opening T20I against England at Chester-Le-Street on Wednesday.
Deciding to bat, India's innings got off to a disastrous start as they slipped to 6/2 inside the opening two overs, but Iyer took charge and led the recovery to take India to a respectable total of 189/7 in 20 overs. Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel has lauded Iyer for responding nicely while being under pressure.
"Those raising questions over Shreyas Iyer would have felt a lot more relieved after this innings. As a player, Shreyas Iyer doesn't have to worry about anything. He's a proven performer in this format. It was a very important innings because India had lost two early wickets, while at the other end, Abhishek Sharma was batting quite aggressively," Patel said on JioStar's 'Game Plan'.
"So, Shreyas had to play the second fiddle rather than rely too much on hitting sixes, which is something every Indian player is so used to from playing in the IPL. You have to rotate the strike, and score boundaries along the ground. I thought it was a masterclass from Shreyas Iyer, understanding the situation and the dimensions of the ground. That's something both the captain and the Indian team would have learned from those two games against Ireland," he said.
Notably, the first T20 between India and England had ended in no result due to persistent showers. Both sides will now meet in the second match on Saturday.