"I have faced similar situations in the IPL before" - Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer played like a lone warrior for the Indian cricket team in the first T20I against England. While all the other Indian players had an off day at the office, Iyer played his best T20I knock to take the team's score past 120.

In a virtual interaction with reporters after the first T20I, Shreyas Iyer mentioned how his IPL experience helped him play with positive intent and score a fighting fifty, although Team India lost three early wickets.

"I have faced similar situations in the IPL before. So, this was not the first time I came out to bat in such a situation. I always aim to play till the end, play the entire 20 overs, and I know, the momentum changes if we get a few boundaries in the middle. The batting team starts dominating the opponents once there is a big partnership," Shreyas Iyer said.

While Shreyas Iyer played brilliantly with the willow, he praised the English bowlers for troubling the Indian batsmen in home conditions.

"Having said that, their bowlers bowled really well tonight. They stuck to their plans and executed them well in the middle," he added.

Shreyas Iyer has cemented his spot in the Indian middle-order

Shreyas Iyer has become a reliable number five batsman (Image courtesy: BCCI)

Many fans were disappointed when the Indian team management included Shreyas Iyer and benched Suryakumar Yadav. However, Iyer's performance converted that despair into hope. Shreyas proved himself to be a worthy number five batsman, who can hold one end and score runs under pressure.

The conditions were a bit challenging and the team's star batsmen were sent back into the dressing room. But Shreyas Iyer did not back off. He aggregated 67 runs from 48 deliveries to emerge as the top-scorer from both sides. Unfortunately, Iyer did not end up on one winning side.