Shreyas Iyer finally got a series win under his belt after India defeated Zimbabwe in the second T20I. He was under pressure after the Men in Blue lost two consecutive bilateral assignments against Ireland and England. Iyer was appointed India’s T20I captain, but the batter was found wanting, and the critics started questioning his credentials, considering he replaced World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
The sub-continent team landed in Zimbabwe on the back of a winless run on the UK tour. However, the visitors bounced back strongly, securing a 7-wicket and 90-run win in the first two games. Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma posted fifty-plus totals to take the score to 219 for 5 in 20 overs.
Chasing a mammoth target, the host nation was bowled out for 129 in 17.5 overs.
After the win, Shreyas hailed his side for its clinical performance. He didn’t reveal whether the management would make changes to the playing XI for the third and final T20I on Sunday.
“I feel exultant, especially the way we won today. It was a comprehensive win, and yeah, a brilliant contribution from everyone. I feel it’s all about the attitude, not dwelling too much on the previous or past performances. You keep going forward, and more importantly, you are in the present. You’ve got to maximise the opportunity that you’re getting, and tomorrow is going to be another one. So looking forward to it,” Shreyas said at the post-match presentation.
“We haven’t decided about changes. I haven’t had a word with the coach. We will see as one of our players got injured. There won’t be a couple of changes to the playing XI,” he added.
Ishan added important runs with Iyer and Tilak Varma. He went after the bowlers after reaching his fifty and hit Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza to all parts of the ground.
Kishan amassed 81 runs while Tilak accumulated an unbeaten 60.
Iyer lauded the two batters for their contributions.
“I think the way Kishan and Tilak played. I think a few of the shots they played were a raka maka. Yeah, it was just pleasing to the eye, bringing the total to 220. I understand the way we got it. I thought that 180 to 200 would be a par score, but we ended up getting 220, which is like icing on the cake,” he mentioned.
Abhishek Sharma took three wickets while debutant Yash Thakur and Prince claimed two scalps each. Prince suffered a hamstring injury and left the field after bowling 1.2 overs. He is likely to miss the final game on July 26.
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