Shreyas Iyer, a Team India hitter, stated that the hosts were lucky when Sri Lanka won the toss and allowed them to bat on a flat field at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday during the 2023 World Cup encounter. India had planned to bat if they won the toss, and their request was granted despite the fact that the coin did not fall in their favour.
The Men in Blue defeated Sri Lanka by 302 runs to become the first side to secure a spot in the World Cup semi-finals in 2023. After setting a massive total of 358, the Indian bowlers cleaned out the Lankans for 55 in 19.4 overs in what appeared to be an action replica of the Asia Cup final.
Shreyas Iyer, who scored 82 off 56 balls in India’s victory, acknowledged in the post-match news conference that the hosts were fortunate to bat first on the Wankhede pitch.
“I think we got lucky, especially when they [Sri Lanka] won the toss and we were thinking that they would be batting first, especially when you come to Wankhede and play on such a brilliant track. Even in the huddle, we decided that, if we win the toss, we would be choosing to bat. That didn’t go according to plan. But we were lucky, as I mentioned earlier.”
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas was spotted batting aggressively during training before of the match against Sri Lanka. He stated that he wanted to come up with something noteworthy after failing to translate starts into huge scores in prior matches.
“Yeah, it was playing on my mind right from the start, because I was getting tremendous starts in the first few games. I wasn’t just able to capitalize on what I was getting to. But today, I just told myself that if it’s there in my area, I’m just going to go take the bull by the horns. Fortunately, it worked for me and I hope that it keeps on working for me in the future as well.”
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas hit three fours and six sixes in his superb effort, which complemented Shubman Gill (92) and Virat Kohli (88).
“We are lucky not to play against them” – Shreyas Iyer on India’s bowling attack
After the batsmen had finished their work, the Indian pacers shook Sri Lanka. After Jasprit Bumrah caught Pathum Nissanka lbw for a golden duck, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj combined for eight scalps.
In response to a question on India’s bowling assault, the graceful batsman stated:
“Yeah, looking at today’s bowling and the previous game, definitely, we are lucky not to play against them. But, at the same time, we bat against them in the nets. So, it gives us an added motivation to come and play any sort of bowlers.”
Shreyas Iyer
While Shami completed with 5/18 from five overs, Siraj concluded with 3/16 from seven.