Introspection and planning key to India’s comeback : Shreyas Iyer, after Team India in first ODI against Kiwis
Once again, it’s the bowlers that led Team India down after a commendable batting performance. The Indian bowlers failed to pick up wickets at regular intervals as the Kiwi duo of Kane Williamson and Tom Latham put up an unbeaten 221 run partnership to snatch the game away from the Indians.
Team India did fancy their chances when the Kiwis were 3 wickets down for 88 runs by the 20th over, but a scintillating display of strokeplay by Tom Latham ( 145 of 104 balls) and Kane Williamson ( 94 of 98 balls) got the New Zealand team to surpass the Indian score comfortably with 48th over.
Indian bowling lacked venom and the Kiwis were smart enough to exploit it optimally. Shardul Thakur went for 25 runs as he bowled the 40th over as Latham hammered him to the fence 4 times and out of it once. To many, it was this over that turned the tables in favour of the Kiwis.
As a whole, the Indian bowlers failed to execute the plans and erred in length especially to Tom Latham , a failure that cost Team India the match. Only Washington Sundar and debutant Umran Malik stood out as he captured 2 of the 3 wickets that fell for NZ.
Shreyas Iyer believes Introspection is key to bounce back for India
However, Shreyas Iyer is not ready to give-in to the Kiwi prowess as yet. In the post match conference, he was hopeful of a careful introspection of the weak links coupled with an effective strategy can help Team India bounce back in the series .
Iyer , who scored a gritty 80 to hold the innings together after Rishab Pant and SKY got out cheaply, pointed out that mental strength is the key to pursue adaptability to foreign conditions, which the Indian team struggled to imbibe in themselves.
He revealed that it’s a tough ask for players who came directly from India , to start performing to the best of their capacity straightaway, especially when they didn’t get enough time to acclimatize.
Carrying forward the dismal bowling performance from the T20 World Cup in Australia, it’s time for Team India to sort out their issues if they are to be regarded as a force to reckon with in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup in their own backyard.
