India’s batter Shreyas Iyer admitted that he would want to bat at number three in the T20I format as this is the position that will suit him the most and he could pace his innings the way he would like to.
Iyer batted at number three in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in the absence of Virat Kohli.
The right-hander was able to grab his chance with both hands as he scored 204 runs in three matches at an impressive strike rate of 174.36. The 27-year old from Mumbai also remained unbeaten throughout the series and returned with scores of 57*, 74*, 73*.
Ergo, Iyer played a key role in India’s win in all the matches. Furthermore, he was awarded the Player of the matches in two matches and he also bagged the Player of the series award.
Iyer feels he can pace his innings while batting at one-down whereas if he bats below number three, then he has to hit the ground running and attack the opposition from the get-go, which is never easy.
“When you play the T20 format, if you bat in top three, that’s the only place you can pace the innings,” Shreyas said. “If you bat after that, you can’t give yourself time – you need to go from ball one. If I had to say the best number for me to bat, it’s obviously No. 3.”
Meanwhile, India has a potent bench strength and Iyer got his chances in the absence of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. Thus, Iyer doesn’t want to take his place in the team for granted despite his great returns against Sri Lanka as there are many players who waiting in the wings.
“Coming not out in all three games was a commendable performance for me, I feel. But if you see the competition in our team, it’s immense. Every individual is capable of winning you games. For me, I want to enjoy every opportunity I’ve been provided with. I like to finish off the games – that’s my mindset when I go onto the field.
“I can’t talk about cementing my place in the team, because the competition is so much, and you need to be flexible about batting in any position and any given situation. My mindset is just to grab as many opportunities as I can and make use of it. ”
On the other hand, Iyer had got off to a subdued start in the first T20I as he had scored a rub-a-ball 12. However, he was able to change gears in a jiffy and was able to get to his fifty off just 25 balls. Subsequently, he got off to quick starts in the next two matches.
“In the first game itself, when I’d batted 12 balls and had 12 runs, I thought I need to charge on from there because I didn’t get that proper start,” he said. “In the last two games, the starts I got were really good, and from there it’s easy to maneuver and manipulate the field. But when you don’t get starts, it’s really important you get your eyes in, and you can target a particular bowler. That really worked out for me in the first game.”
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