Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer stunned the media by saying the win against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 would have been a convincing victory by finishing the game earlier. 

Last Sunday (February 23), India faced Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, where the defending champions Pakistan chose to bat first after winning the toss. It was an important match for both teams, as Pakistan suffered a defeat in their first game of the tournament by 60 runs against New Zealand, and India beat Bangladesh by six wickets in their first fixture of the competition.

Pakistan batters failed to pressurise disciplined Indian bowlers, and it resulted in 241 all out for Pakistan in 49.4 overs. In reply, Virat Kohli completed his century on the last ball and the opener Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer also played strong roles with the bat, as India chased down the target in 42.3 overs after losing four wickets. India successfully chased down the target with 45 balls remaining, but Iyer felt that they could finish the game earlier. 

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I think we could have won a bit earlier: Shreyas Iyer

Iyer scored a valuable 56 off 67 balls with five fours and one six. He had a crucial 114-run partnership with Kohli for the third wicket that ended the remaining hope for Pakistan in the match. Although India finished the match comfortably, the top middle-order batter feels they could have won the game earlier. 

Iyer said in the post-match press conference, "I think we could have won a bit earlier. It would have been a convincing win."

Iyer feels that they should have played more aggressively. He added, "But if we could have played more aggressively, we could have won a bit earlier."

I think Abrar bowled brilliantly: Shreyas Iyer

Only Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed provided some solid fightback among the Pakistan bowlers. In his 10 overs, the leg-spinner had the bowling figures of 28 for one wicket. As Abrar was bowling really well, as he dismissed the set batter Gill for 46 runs with a beauty, Iyer and Kohli were handling the leggie respectfully at the crucial moment. 

Talking about the situation, Iyer said, "I think Abrar bowled brilliantly. It was important and crucial for me to play out that spell and rotate the strike at the same time. It took some time and then once my eyes were set, I thought that sweep and reverse sweep would have been a great option to put them on the back foot. And I think that worked pretty well for me.

"It wasn't easy to take charge against Abrar. In that particular phase, it was important to take singles as much as possible and take the team to the end. Once we reach 30 or 40 runs, it is easy to charge on from there."

Iyer had a slow start in the chase as the right-handed batter once scored 17 off 33 balls. But soon after that, Iyer was going well by dealing with some boundaries. While there was no boundary, he and Kohli were always busy moving the scoreboard with singles and doubles.