Shreyas Iyer, an Indian batsman, was ‘over the moon’ after helping India win their third Champions Trophy championship by defeating New Zealand by four wickets in the final on Sunday. Iyer finished the tournament as the second-highest run scorer, with 241 runs in five matches, trailing only New Zealand hitter Rachin Ravindra. The right-handed top-order hitter has won his first ICC title.
“To be honest, I’m over the moon. It is difficult to express in words. This is my first ICC Trophy, and I’m feeling rather overwhelmed. Congratulations to everyone in the dressing room. The manner we have performed in this tournament. It was just beautiful.
“To be honest, I enjoy batting under pressure. I thrive under pressure, and I genuinely enjoy the challenge. I always want a huge one, but if you can contribute enough to your team and help them win, that’s more than enough for me. “I am genuinely happy.”
While Iyer struck 48 off 62 balls, KL Rahul remained calm until the end, scoring 34 not out from 33 balls to secure India’s third Champions Trophy win after 2002 and 2013. It is also India’s second ICC trophy win in a year, following its T20 World Cup victory in June of last year.
The Dubai victory gives India the most successful team in Champions Trophy history, and they did so in front of a stadium packed with Indian fans. The victory would also be a welcome relief for the Indian squad and its fervent fans after missing out on the 2023 ODI World Cup on home turf.
Rahul acknowledged to feeling a lot of pressure in the last stages of the game, but he relied on himself to be calm and composed.
“I’m not sure I can say this on TV, but I was shitting myself. We had a few batters to come, but I was nervous. It’s all about remaining calm and composed in instances like this. I believe I batted in situations like these in three of the five games (in this CT), and in one of them, I did not bat at all against Pakistan.
“It’s difficult to put into words, sheer skill and the way we’ve all played cricket growing up, we’ve had to face a lot of hurdles, and we’ve had to deal with pressure when we first picked up a bat and wanted to become professional cricketers. The BCCI has groomed us, and the domestic circuit has taught us how to handle pressure and perform well in situations like these,” remarked KL Rahul.
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