WI vs IND | 'No.3 is a fun position to bat,' says Shreyas Iyer
The number three position in cricket across formats is one of the most demanding positions for a player to bat. India, in the absence of former skipper Virat Kohli, have tried out various candidates for the role but are yet to find a suitable one.
Shreyas Iyer, who has sparkled in the ongoing One-Day Internationals (ODI) against West Indies at No.3 finds the position fun to bat in and feels it gives the batter more scope to showcase himself.
Iyer registered his second fifty of the series, scoring a crucial 63 in India's match-winning chase of 312.
“It [No. 3] is a fun position to bat at, and I really enjoy it. It is one of the best positions to bat because you go into a very tough situation if the wicket falls in early,"
"You go in and you have to see the new ball and then build your innings. Also if the openers have got into a really good partnership, then you have to go carry forward that momentum, take it on from where they have left and see to it that the run rate is maintained," Iyer was quoted by cricket.com.
However, the Mumbai batter was disappointed to miss out on a ton on back-to-back occasions. Iyer, in particular, seemed unhappy about his dismissal.
He scored 71 runs in the 1st ODI.
“Really fortunate to get to consecutive half-centuries. But I should have converted it into a century. You don’t get such kind of starts every time in international cricket.
"The more you convert your fifties into hundreds, the better it is. Today was a golden opportunity for me to convert my innings. But at the same time as long as the team is winning, I am happy to contribute.
“I was really happy to get to what score I got today. But was unhappy with the way I got dismissed. I thought that I could have taken the team through easily and set up the total, but I was very unfortunate with the way I got out. Hopefully, I will be able to score a century in the next one," Iyer explained.
The second ODI went down the wire, with India needing 15 off 12, and Axar Patel (64*) hit a six to finish the game.
Iyer spoke about how tense the dressing room was, including coach Rahul Dravid.
“It was fun, to be honest. We were all sitting together, and Rahul sir was getting very tensed; he was consistently passing on the message,”
“I think a lot of players showed really good emotions out there and were very calm and composed in the pressure situation. And since we have played so many matches lately, I think we have already seen all these emotions.
"It was just another game for us. I think we did pretty well, especially Axar, the way he finished off today. It was an outstanding knock," the KKR captain added.
India have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead over the West Indies and will eye a clean sweep when both teams clash in the final ODI on Wednesday.
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