Shreyas Iyer top-scored with 67 for India as they lost the first T20I against England at the Narendra Modi stadium. Iyer scored much-needed runs after India were reduced to 22 for 3 inside the powerplay with Indian skipper Virat Kohli dismissed for a duck. Iyer with Rishabh Pant (21) and then with Hardik Pandya (19) took the Indian score to 124/7. Iyer batted at number five, not at his familiar position but still top-scored for his team.
The Indian batsmen had no answers to the raw pace from the England bowlers. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood cranked it up. Archer took three wickets while all other pacers took one each.
Meanwhile, former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said that there should be no questions around Iyer’s place in the side after the last knock. Bangar has praised Shreyas Iyer for batting the way he did.
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There Should Not Be Any Pressure on Shreyas Iyer o Hold His Spot: Sanjay Bangar
“He batted in a brilliant fashion and it was under pressure. He was also sent down the order because Rishabh Pant was promoted. He is a very consistent player and there should not be any pressure on him for his place in the team because he is a player who can play responsibly and can play the big shots,” said Bangar on Star Sports.
Bangar further said that Shreyas Iyer should play all the T20I games leading upto the World T20 scheduled to happen later this year in India.
” I feel this player should continue playing all the T20 matches till the World Cup because the more confidence you give him, the better he will keep getting,” the former India batting coach added.
The Indian batting line-up was tested in the first T20I in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli was discussed for a duck. Virender Sehwag also targeted Kohli for dropping Rohit for the first game despite being in form.
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