'Abhi seedha jaake T20 mode me toh nehi khel sakte' - Shreyas Iyer shuts critics over India's batting approach in Auckland ODI

India were convincingly beaten by New Zealand in the opening ODI clash at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday (November 25). The Men in Blue posted a challenging total of 306/7 with Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, and Shubman Gill scoring half-centuries and Washington Sundar hammering 37* runs off just 16 balls.

But the hosts eased to the target with seven wickets and 17 balls remaining. Tom Latham smashed unbeaten 145 runs off just 104 balls and Kane Williamson contributed with 94*. Both Kiwi batters dominated an inexperienced Indian bowling attack to exploit India's weaknesses.

After the loss, fans and experts are raising questions over India's batting approach and demanding the team to adopt England's attacking style of play.

It is a learning curve for us: Shreyas Iyer

But Shreyas, who scored 80 runs in the game (highest for India), shut the critics with a blunt reply in the post-match press conference on Friday. He stated that they can't play attacking cricket straightaway in the ODI format.

“Abhi seedha jaake T20 mode me toh nehi khel sakte (We can't play in the T20 mode straightaway in fifty overs). One can plan his batting by looking at the wicket and deciding in his mind what a par score would be. One needs to adapt. Fifty overs can change from time to time. Sometimes there can be sunset, there can be dew at other times and you don't know how the wicket will play," Shreyas said after the game on Friday.

Indian team is at the receiving end of criticism despite scoring a 300-plus total in the first ODI. They were struggling at 160-4 in 32.5 overs but Shreyas, Sanju Samson, and Washington Sundar managed to drag India to a big total. Shreyas also mentioned that the 307-run total was a commendable effort but things didn't go their way.

"Reaching 307 from the position that we were in was a commendable effort. Few things didn't go our way. It is a learning curve for us and hopefully, we can go back and introspect and come back with new ideas."