Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik believes Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer decided to bat first against England in the first T20I after the team lost two matches while chasing against Ireland. India could not chase down 183 and 155 against a beleaguered Irish team and suffered a 0-2 series loss.
Meanwhile, there were overcast conditions at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday and thus Iyer’s decision was a bit surprising. In fact, it kept drizzling throughout the Indian innings and eventually the match was called off due to rain. India posted a par score of 189 runs on the board after Abhishek Sharma and Shreyas Iyer scored 59 and 68 runs respectively.
It is worth mentioning that since 2025, teams batting first have won eight matches at the Riverside Ground whereas sides batting second have won four games.
“India won the toss and they chose to bat first in Chester-Le-Street, which is something most teams do, but it was a bit off and awkward evening here because rain was always looming around the corner, but I do think the Ireland hangover was there a bit. So, India decided let’s not chase and bat first,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“For a start, it was good to know India decided to bat first. The general tendency is to chase down totals. But India, choosing to bat, was a good decision, even though, obviously, there was a bit of weather around the corner constantly.” he added.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer scored a crucial knock of 68 runs off 47 balls and Karthik reckons the Indian skipper would have been under pressure after a quiet series against Ireland, where he could only manage 13 runs in two games.
“As it has been in the last couple of games, a stutter up top. But in walked the skipper, and he now needed runs because he is now the skipper. He wanted to get rid of the pressure, so he batted nicely. He must have been under pressure, because as a leader, you need to walk the talk with the bat first, and he knew that. The skipper needed to put his stand down and say, ‘I am the skipper, I will get the runs’, and he did it quite nicely,” Dinesh Karthik said of Shreyas Iyer.
The second T20I between India and England will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday.
