Cheteshwar Pujara has credited Shreyas Iyer’s tactical awareness and India’s disciplined bowling for successfully defending 223 in the third T20I in Indore, while identifying Abhishek Sharma’s rapid rise to 2,000 T20I runs as a sign of his growing stature in the shortest format. Reflecting on India’s response following their defeat in Ranchi, the former India batter highlighted the importance of leadership under pressure and the young opener’s evolving understanding of T20 batting.
India’s defence of the total in Indore demonstrated how a substantial first-innings score can be protected through meticulous planning and execution. For Pujara, the turnaround was not just about the bowlers delivering with the ball, but also about the captain recognising what had gone wrong in the previous match and responding with a clear strategy.
Because they needed to come up with a good game plan after losing in Ranchi, “I think India did a great job.
But yes, Shreyas showed great maturity, and so did the Indian bowlers,” Pujara told JioStar. As captain, Shreyas Iyer corrected those mistakes and was constantly talking to his bowlers about how to bowl and what strategies they could use to defend the total. The execution by the bowlers was spot-on. A captain always looks good when his players do their job for the team. “Abhishek has that kind of ability. The maturity he showed, especially in Indore, by taking a little time at the crease, even though five or six balls feels like a long time for him, shows that he is understanding his game better, recognising the opposition’s strengths and batting accordingly. Now, in Hyderabad, he has played a lot of cricket at that venue, and that experience and familiarity can make a difference, even in T20s,” he added.
