By Karan Agrawal 
India got off to a winning start in the three-match ODI series against England with a comprehensive win in the first match courtesy of half-centuries from the bat of Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, and Axar Patel. Chasing 249 runs to win India got off to a shaky start with the opening duo of debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed inside the first 10 overs with just 19 runs on the board. The onus was on the pair of young batters Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer to bail India out of trouble and they did just that with an attacking partnership of 94 runs.
The Counterattack
Iyer in particular was more aggressive of the two as the right-hander raced to his half-century and scored 59 runs of 36 balls with the help of 9 fours and 2 sixes. Iyer was severe against Jofra Archer who tried to dismiss him by bowling bouncers at a rapid pace but Iyer preampted the short ball tactic and was ready for the challenge as he pulled and cut Archer to the boundary.
The Revelation
Talking to the broadcaster after the match Shreyas Iyer said that he wasn’t supposed to play the match and only got the chance as Virat Kohli was nursing a swollen Knee. In the words of Iyer, “I wasn’t supposed to play the first game. As we all know, Virat unfortunately got injured and then I got the opportunity. But I had kept myself prepared. I knew that, you know, at any point in time, I could get a chance to play. And the same thing happened to me last year during the Asia Cup. I got injured, and someone else came, and he scored a century,” he told Star Sports.
The Call
Iyer Revealed that he was watching a movie on the eve of the match but an unexpected call from the captain made him change his plans. “It’s actually a funny story. I was watching the movie last night. I thought that I could extend my nighttime. Then I got a call from the skipper saying that I may play because Virat has got a swollen knee, and I hurried back to my room and went off to sleep straight. So we didn’t know that,” Iyer said.
The Plan
Shreyas remained tight-lipped when he was asked about India’s plans for the Champions Trophy “I don’t know what you want me to say, but I’m gonna keep it low-key and just, you know, cherish this moment, the victory,” he said.