Iyer credits openers, calls Dhir’s finishing effort magnificent

Shreyas Iyer praised Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson for providing a flying start before Naman Dhir sealed India’s record T20I chase of 226 against New Zealand. India won by four wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series

Christchurch: India captain Shreyas Iyer praised openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson for laying the foundation for India’s record chase of 226 against New Zealand in the first T20I and lauded Naman Dhir for his composure in finishing the job.

In front of a sell-out crowd at Hagley Oval, India pulled off their highest successful T20I chase to beat New Zealand by four wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the series. India got off to a rollicking start with a 93-run opening stand between Samson (67 off 33 balls) and Abhishek (29 off 12 balls). After a mid-innings wobble, Dhir remained unbeaten on 42 off 15 balls and sealed the win with a six off the penultimate ball of the chase.

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“They (Abhishek and Sanju) are absolutely experienced enough. You don’t have to tell them how to go about their business. They know exactly what they’re doing, and once they get going, it’s just about the momentum they carry forward, and today was just an example of that.

“So obviously, it doesn’t happen every time, but once they click, you see that they set up a game for us, and the rest of us, we just come and steady the ship and see to it that we finish off the game,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

He was also full of praise for Dhir, whose reputation is growing in international cricket, and said his ability to contribute with off-spin added to his value at number seven.

“Absolutely. He gives us a lot of options, especially against left-handed batters, or even right-handers. Especially on this ground, coming in and bowling those two or three crucial overs can actually change the momentum. And I personally feel that the calm and composed nature he showed today was simply magnificent to see him bat.”

The win came just days after India wrapped up their home series against the West Indies, and Iyer felt the team could now put the long journey behind them.

“Fantastic. Probably we’ve got to forget about the jet lag now,” he said.

The Indian bowlers had a tough outing as New Zealand piled up 225/4, with all the Indian bowlers conceding at least 10 runs an over. Iyer admitted they had pitched the ball too full early on before dew made conditions more difficult for the bowlers.

“So when we started bowling, I thought it was playing a bit slow. The ball was holding a bit, and we bowled a little ahead compared to the hard lengths we should have been hitting. But as soon as the game progressed, we saw the dew coming in, and the wicket was skidding flatter as the ball was getting through and coming onto the bat pretty well.

“That’s how they got the momentum, and they reached 220. Kudos to them for the efforts, but obviously we needed that kind of start, especially when you’re chasing 220. Getting to 80-85 in six overs is a tremendous start,” Iyer concluded.