‘Irish hangover’: Dinesh Karthik on Shreyas Iyer’s bowling decision in 1st T20I vs England
Harry Brook and Shreyas Iyer (BCCI photo) NEW DELHI: India’s decision to bat first in the opening T20I against England surprised many. With overcast skies and rain, most teams would have preferred to bowl first after winning the toss at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.However, Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer opted to bat and former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik believes there was one major reason behind the decision – the recent 2-0 T20I series defeat against Ireland.
“There was an Irish hangover”
India opted to bat first in both T20Is against Ireland but failed to chase down the targets. They lost the first match by 34 runs and the second by just one run.Karthik feels that these defeats have affected India’s mindset against England.“India electing to bat was a good decision, although of course there was always a bit of weather around the corner… The general tendency is to go for totals,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.“It was a bit of an awkward evening here because the rain was always looming around the corner, but I think the Irish hangover was there a bit. So India decided, ‘we’re not going to chase and bat first’,” he added.
Match ended after rain
India’s plan looked promising as they ended the match early before heavy rain, posting a competitive 189/7 in 20 overs.The rain started towards the end of India’s innings and only got heavier. With just over 40 minutes remaining in the five-game limit, the match was called off by the referees.Shreyas Iyer led from the front with a 47-ball 68, while opener Abhishek Sharma scored 59. All-rounder Shivam Dube provided an unbeaten run with an unbeaten 42 off just 21 balls.The second match of the five-match T20I series is played in Manchester on July 4.
Iyer crosses 5000 international runs
The match also turned into a personal milestone for Shreyas Iyer, who completed 5,000 international runs for India during his knock of 68. He achieved the milestone with an innings that included six fours and a six in a 144-plus strike.So far, Iyer has scored 5,031 runs in 147 international matches at an average of 39.61 and a strike rate of 96.06. His record includes six centuries and 37 half-centuries, with a top score of 128 not out.In Tests, he scored 811 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36.86, including one century and five fifties.ODIs remain his most successful format with 3,035 runs in 79 matches at an average of 45.98, including five centuries and 23 fifties.In T20Is, Iyer scored 1,184 runs in 54 matches at an average of 30.38 and a strike rate of over 135, with nine fifties and a top score of 74 not out.
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