Former India opener Aakash Chopra lauded Shreyas Iyer for his performance in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Lucknow.
Shreyas Iyer played a sparkling knock of 28-ball 57 to give India a flourish in the end overs. Earlier after winning the toss, the visitors invited India to bat first. Skipper Rohit Sharma and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan put on a 111-run stand for the opening wicket. In the process, Rohit Sharma also became the leading run-scorer in the T20Is as he surpassed the tally of Martin Guptill (3299) in the shortest format.
Shreyas Iyer scored 57 runs in 28 balls
Reviewing the match in his youtube channel, Aakash Chopra stated that despite batting at no.3 Shreyas Iyer played a role of a finisher as he came out to bat in the 12th over.
“Shreyas Iyer on fire. He came to bat at No. 3 but it was the 12th over. The first wicket fell at 11.5 overs at a score of 111. So last eight overs, you are no longer a No. 3 batter, you are almost like a finisher.” Aakash Chopra said.
“He played the role of a finisher. He scored 19 or so runs off the first 15 deliveries but after that, fours and sixes galore. He was moving in the crease but kept the head still. He hits the ball in different angles, hits straight sixes while keeping the head down.” he added.
Chopra also lauded skipper Rohit Sharma who put on a century stand with Rohit Sharma.
“Rohit Sharma batted fantastically, he also kept on hitting the boundaries. Generally, he used to be aggressive but Ishan Kishan started to hit this time, so he allowed him to do that and played a little cautiously himself. He has to play a little cautiously because such a young side was playing.” Aakash Chopra said.
Chopra also stated that Sri Lanka’s bowling attack is quite ordinary as they are missing some of the key players.
“The Sri Lankan bowling looked very ordinary. We must also mention that Theekshana is injured, Waninindu Hasaranga is still getting positive COVID-19 results. An already weak team became even weaker, which is very unfortunate. I didn’t feel the bowling changes were impressive as well.” he added.
Also Read: “This Is The Ishan Kishan We Generally Know”- Aakash Chopra