Cheteshwar Pujara was impressed by Shreyas Iyer's century, praised him!

Former India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has praised captain Shreyas Iyer for scoring a brilliant maiden T20 International century in the 8-wicket win against West Indies in Lucknow. He said that this innings has come at the right time for him.

India were in trouble at 35/2 when Iyer came to bat at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. He scored unbeaten 102 runs on 43 balls. This innings helped defending T20 World Cup champions India win with eight wickets and 32 balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Speaking to GeoHotStar, Pujara said, “This century came at the right time because he was looking for that form. There was no question on his batting because when it comes to the T20 format, I think Shreyas is a great cricketer, so there is no doubt about his ability, although the form he was in during the innings in Lucknow.

As soon as he came on the field, he was timing the ball well and was easily crossing the infield during the powerplay. “Once he got settled, he started hitting big shots and big sixes, meaning he was in complete control.”

The former Indian batsman further said, “He knew which bowler to target. So yes, this innings came at the right time because he needed this innings. When you captain the team, you set an example and that is the example you want to set in front of the young players.”

Cheteshwar Pujara was also impressed by the good performance of right-handed all-rounder Naman Dheer on his T20 International debut. Dheer used smart bowling variations to take 3 wickets for 31 runs and was India's most economical bowler in the match.

Pujara said, “It was good to see that he was using his cricketing understanding. He took three wickets, but before that he had a six, so he was trying to change his line and length and also changing his pace very well.”

Pujara said, “Yes, you may be a part-time bowler, but you cannot just bowl ordinary bowling. You have to do something better than that and Naman Dhir showed that he is a good bowler.” He also felt that he would be patient and better with experience in the coming matches, especially on pitches that can be very flat.

“You can't expect him to bowl four overs every match, but he is definitely improving and showing that he can be a good bowler in the T20 format.”