“50 on a wicket like this felt like a 100”: Shreyas Iyer explains why he celebrated 2nd Test half-century with gusto at Chinnaswamy Stadium

Shreyas Iyer: The Indian batter scored a quickfire second Test half-century at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium today.

India batter Shreyas Iyer has expressed disappointment at missing out on a second Test century but is happy that his second Test half-century powered the team to a respectable total on the first day of the first Test of the ongoing Sri Lanka’s tour of India in Bengaluru.

Coming in to bat at No. 6 in the 28th over, Iyer went all guns blazing against an inexperienced Sri Lankan spin-attack on a surface which turned from the first session itself.

As a result, the 27-year old player top-scored with his 92 (98) comprising of 10 fours and four sixes. An archetype impact-generating innings played a pivotal role in India scoring 252/10 in 59.1 overs.

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“Disappointed to miss out on the century but honestly very happy that the team reached a good total. That’s what matters,” Iyer told the reporters during a virtual press conference after play ended on Saturday.

Shreyas Iyer explains why he celebrated 2nd Test half-century with gusto

Iyer didn’t mince his words while labeling the pitch at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium as “not that great”. A quintessential rank-turner, Bengaluru pitch is such that the match is highly likely to find a winner by Day 3. As many as 16 batters getting out in 89.1 overs on a Day 1 wicket is never a good indicator of the pitch.

While India batters Hanuma Vihari (31) and Virat Kohli (23) batted with caution, wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant (39) hit seven boundaries at a strike rate of 150 to make the most of his time at a surface which was bound to throw an unplayable delivery at him.

That being said, Iyer batting at a strike rate of 93.87 for almost 100 deliveries on this surface was no less than a daddy hundred. It was due to the same reason that Iyer removed his helmet to acknowledge the spectators during his half-century celebrations.

“The pitch is not that great. I was very nervous for the first five overs and talked to the coaches about my plans after the break. Very happy I could execute my plans. That 50 on a wicket like this felt like a 100. That’s why I celebrated the way I did,” Iyer said.

Known for his attacking instincts especially against the spinners, Iyer adopted a courageous approach throughout his knock to often step out of his crease in order to hit boundaries off spinners today.