Shreyas Iyer not satisfied with just beating Pakistan - 'We could have finished the game earlier'

"We could have won earlier. It would have been a convincing win."

Uhh, what? Is a six-wicket win with more than seven overs left not convincing enough?

There was almost no stage in their chase of 242 in which India appeared troubled and almost no stage in the first innings in which Pakistan appeared capable of getting to a score that would test India.

"But if we could have played more aggressively, we could have won a bit earlier," Iyer told the crowd. He had hit 56 of 67 balls.

Throughout his innings, he had to contend with legspinner Abrar Ahmed, Pakistan's most economical bowler, who took 1 for 28 in ten overs. Shubman Gill received a fantastic delivery that resulted in his one wicket.

Iyer had some positive things to say.

"Alm confident Abrar bowled wonderfully. I needed to execute that spell while also rotating the strike. It took some time, but once my eyes were set, a sweep and reverse sweep would have been an excellent way to put them on the back foot.

"Taking charge against Abrar was not easy. In that specific phase, it was critical to win as many singles as possible while also leading the team to victory. Once we've completed 30 or 40 runs, it's easy to continue."

This is India's second Champions Trophy encounter at this site. However, it was a different strip than the one they used against Bangladesh. And the bowlers who took the speed off the ball hampered his progress.

And the bowlers who took the speed off the ball hampered his progress.

"As we know, even in the previous game we played over here, the wicket is a bit slow," he told us. "It's spinner-friendly, of course. The combination of all their bowlers and the experience they have adds a lot of clarity to their bowling."

India was chasing a small target, but Iyer's start had been poor, with 12 runs from the first 28 balls he faced.

"It's important to attack, but it's not easy to go in and straightaway start smashing the ball," he told me. "You have to look at the pace of the wicket and how it is coming on to the bat. Showing that determination with every ball makes it difficult for a batsman.

"It's better to take some time, see how it's coming to you, and let the ball do the talking."