'Every individual a match winner': Iyer hails team after India’s 2nd T20I win

India captain Shreyas Iyer praised Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy for showing “immense character” after their team secured a thrilling win over New Zealand in the second T20I. He also credited Naman Dhir for his important contribution, which helped India recover after losing several wickets in the middle overs. Chasing a target of 181 runs, India were in trouble after losing five wickets for 70 runs in 10.5 overs, having started at 40/0. However, Naman’s quickfire 31 off 17 balls, including a four and three sixes, brought India back into the contest.

Tilak and Nitish then completed the chase with an unbeaten partnership, guiding India to a four-wicket win with one ball remaining.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Iyer praised the team’s fighting spirit and said, “I feel that every individual in our game is a match winner, and today we saw the example of that. Like, honestly speaking, when we lost wickets, consecutive wickets especially, we thought that the game was going away from us. But Tilak and Reddy, they showed immense character, and also a great cameo by Naman Dhir.”

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Iyer also praised Naman’s all-round abilities, calling him a “phenomenal bowler” and a “comprehensive player”.

“We saw him in a couple of games back home against West Indies. He is a phenomenal bowler as well, and once you get both the parts covered in terms of batting and bowling, I think he brings in a lot of character, and also when you see him move around in the field, he basically, he is a comprehensive player,” he said.

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The Indian skipper also acknowledged the challenge posed by New Zealand spinners Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell, while pointing out that India’s slow scoring rate early in the chase put the team under pressure.

“I think we played a lot of dot balls initially, and that basically piled up the run rate as well, and also when we went in, we wanted to actually cruise, but they bowled amazing, especially Bracewell and Santner, the way they controlled the game in the middle,” Iyer said.

“It was not easy to strike the ball, but I think if we would have picked up the gaps and tried to find boundaries, we could have easily cruised. But unfortunate. You know, it happens. Just another day, and I am sure that we will bounce back pretty strong,” he concluded.