India captain Virat Kohli is known as chase master who loves to chase in white-ball cricket. However, like the fans, India’s newest No 4 batsman Shreyas Iyer wants to do something like this in the future. He has so far scored a half-century and 44 off 33 balls in the successful chases in the first two T20 Internationals against New Zealand.
“I personally feel that you have a fair idea how many runs you are going to chase and at what run-rate you have to chase them. Virat Kohli is the perfect example when he goes out to bat and the way he plans his innings. I learn a lot from him personally, the way he grinds out and he tries to finish the game. That’s the best part about him,“ Shreyas Iyer told reporters after India won the second game.
He also learns from his senior Mumbai teammate Rohit Sharma, who can trouble the opponent with his flamboyant knock on his day.
“(I) Also (learn from) Rohit Sharma, whenever he’s given an opportunity, he makes the best use of it. All these amazing characters in the team set a really good example for us youngsters. There’s a lot to learn from them and that’s what I try to apply whenever I go out there. I think that I have to stay not out and it really helps me grind throughout that middle period and when the time comes, I take on the bowlers. That’s how you plan your innings when you are chasing,” Shreyas Iyer added.
The youngster loves to hit big sixes but he also knows how rotating the strike effects in the middle-overs. He has now played 34 limited-overs games for India (15 ODIs and 19 T20Is) and realised that staying at the crease is important as well.
“You have to play all sorts of shots and take singles. As well as when you want to hit sixes, you have to be aware of the fact that you have to create that moment for yourself. You have to give yourself that time to get set. That’s what I usually do. I have realized playing so many matches that as long as I stay on the wicket, I tend to see the ball really well and I can take on the bowlers,” he expressed.
The Eden Park ground is very small regarding an international game. But it was not easy in the game said the middle-order batsman.
“You do feel that the boundaries are close and you can easily clear them. But at the back of your mind, I like to give myself some time and I also count the spinners’ overs and gauge how many they will bowl. If you give yourself time and charge at them in the later overs, your eyes are also better set and once you do that, it doesn’t matter how big the boundaries are. You can still easily clear them,” he further added.
Iyer has been going through a purple patch right now. However, not only him but the opener KL Rahul also who smashed two consecutive fifties in the series so far. In the second game, India lost two early wickets – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. But both Rahul and Iyer didn’t let others panic and added a partnership that led India to another convincing win.
“It makes you feel a little composed while chasing 130 because at the back of the mind, you know that you have to maintain a run-rate of about 7. And at the same time, you curtail the risk as well. It was very important for us to keep at the back of the mind that we need to keep rotating the strike and when the time comes, we need to take charge on the bowlers,” Shreyas Iyer concluded.
