'You can't play negative on such wickets,' says Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer counter-attacking thump put India steering the ship in the second Test against Sri Lanka and Shreyas Iyer affirmed that batting with a defensive outlook doesn’t help on troublesome wickets like the M Chinnaswamy track.

Iyer’s confrontational 92 under pressure directed India to 252 after the group was battling at 126 for five.

“My plan when I went out to bat was to cut down the spin (negate turn), so I decided to step out,” Iyer told media after opening day’s play.

“The players who defended the ball, there was a lot of chance of nicking. The ball was staying low and there was variable bounce on the wicket. You can’t play negative on this wicket, just keep defending the ball,” he added.

He missed out on his second Test century yet he doesn’t lament, saying taking a gander at the team plan.

“I am disappointed that I missed out on a hundred, but if you see from the team’s perspective, we got to a very fighting total, which is 250 especially on this wicket. And seriously I don’t have any regrets. When I play on the field, I play for the team, I don’t play for myself,” he said.

“The results matter for me and my teammates, skipper, coaches all of them have been really supportive throughout and that’s what really matters. And I felt fifty was alike a century because the I celebrated it was like a century feeling for me,” he said.