India clinched the ODI series against West Indies and in both the wins, captain Virat Kohli stood tall and smacked centuries. And in both the wins, India were in a bit of a bother when Kohli found support in Shreyas Iyer.
After India's series-clinching win in Trinidad, the captain lauded the efforts of the young man and said that he was impressed with the way the Mumbai batsman adapted and responded to the situation. The captain also said that Iyer reminded him a lot about his own early days in the Indian side.
"He understood the value of performing in these situations. "It will only boost his confidence further. I was exactly the same when I came in - any opportunity I got I wanted to win games for my team and play according to the situation and you have to take risks," Kohli said after the match.
'Iyer was brave under pressure'
The skipper also noted that the young man was brave and realised his own ability which was great to see.
"He was brave under pressure. You need to reveal your game to realise who you are, what your game is and what kind of a player you are," the captain further added.
India's muddle in the middle-order continues to follow the team and even as Rishabh Pant continues to throw away his wicket, these knocks by Iyer are sure to give him a promotion and a more stable role in the Indian batting order. The captain said that Iyer could be a "strong contender and a regular feature in the middle order" if he continued to play the way he played in the two matches so far.
"Both times he was batting with me, I've been around for a while, and he wasn't intimidated at all, he was very confident, very sure of his game. I think that is great to see, hopefully, he builds on this and keeps performing like this for the team," the skipper further added.
Speaking about the innings on the day, the captain conceded that Iyer came out and took the pressure off him which allowed him to play the way he wanted to express himself.
"Today we were under a bit of pressure, I think Shreyas, the way he played took all the pressure off me and I could just play with my usual tempo and control the game from one end," Kohli added.
