Shreyas Iyer feels India should have closed out the chase quicker against Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Iyer put together a vital 114-run stand with Virat Kohli that formed the cornerstone of India's chase against Pakistan, helping them complete a six-wicket win with 45 balls to spare. It virtually knocked Pakistan out of the competition, giving India a positive net run-rate of 0.647.
However, Iyer felt India could have completed the chase much quicker. Speaking at the post-match presser, Iyer checked with a journalist on the "balls to spare" margin, when asked if he thought India had won easily.
Iyer: We could have won earlier
"I think we could have won a bit earlier," Iyer replied. "Could have been a convincing win based on how the wicket was playing.
"It was initially coming on pretty well with the new ball and after that it was difficult to score runs when the ball got a bit old. But if we would have played more aggressively we would have won a bit earlier I felt."
Did India slow down in the middle overs?
Iyer batted 67 balls for his 56, finishing with the lowest strike-rate among India's top five, with larger questions over India potentially slowing down in the middle overs of the chase. Towards the end, it felt India might run out of runs for Virat Kohli to be able to get to his hundred, but he eventually finished off the chase and reached his 51st ODI century with the same shot.
The pursuit looked in control all through, but the run-rate wavered in the middle overs: after the 26th-over, the current run-rate actually fell below five, having been at 6.40 at the end of the 10-over mark, and 5.66 before the 43rd, and final over, of the chase began.
Iyer: Partnership with Kohli was crucial
When asked if it was hard to find fluency on the Dubai pitch, Iyer said he took time to adapt. "It's not easy to go in and straightaway start smashing the ball because you need to gauge the pace of the wicket how it is coming on to the bat and I took few balls at the start to see how it's coming and if you show that intent on every ball it is difficult for a batsman to be honest.
"But if you take some time see how the ball is coming to you and let the ball do the talking rather than you dictate out there in the middle. So, I felt that the partnership [with Kohli] is [was] crucial, especially on these wickets, where you know that the total won't be that high, considering how the wicket is playing."
With two wins already, India look set to enter the next stage of the tournament, with the net run-rate unlikely to affect their chances unless Bangladesh pull off something incredible versus New Zealand.
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