"The faster it came, the quicker it went" - Kevin Pietersen lauds India batter after heroics in IND vs ENG 2025 1st ODI 

Former England batter Kevin Pietersen showered his praise on India's middle order batter Shreyas Iyer for his heroics in the first ODI in Nagpur on Thursday, February 6. He commended the right-hander for his exploits against Jofra Archer, particularly against the short ball outburst, which has troubled him in the past. The 44-year-old also credited Iyer for playing the field to his advantage.

The remarks came after Iyer smashed a quickfire 59 runs off 36 balls, hitting one maximum and nine boundaries. The 30-year-old also shared a 94-run partnership with Shubman Gill to recover the Men in Blue from 19/2. He was drafted into the playing XI because Virat Kohli was ruled out due to a knee injury.

Kevin Pietersen told Star Sports (via India Today):

"He batted beautifully, he really did. Jofra Archer came out with the short ball, and very fast, and it was as if batting was so easy for Shreyas Iyer this evening. The faster it came, the quicker it went. What was pretty cool about his batting was that he found the gaps."

Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel lauded Iyer for his technical adjustment to overcome his short ball weakness. He said:

"It looked like Shreyas Iyer had a plan in his mind. The bowlers were bowling 140+, and he managed to use their pace. Yes, he was hanging back, but his weight was always on the front foot, that's how he played square of the wicket so well. I thought that the clarity of mind was there against very fast bowling."

"Shreyas got inside the line to the short ball, whereas earlier he used to open up and target point, that was the slight technical change that he made," he added.

Iyer helped India chase down the target of 248 runs with more than 11 overs to spare.

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Kevin Pietersen slams England bowling unit after loss to India in ODI series opener

Kevin Pietersen further slammed England's bowling unit after the Men in Blue chased down 249 with 11.2 overs to spare. He felt that the bowlers should have bowled stumps to stumps while defending a below-par total. He said in the same interaction:

"England neither applied themselves with the bat, nor did they target the stumps enough with the ball. In India, if you do not target the stumps with the ball, how will you take wickets?"

With a four-wicket win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead against England in the three-match series. The second ODI is scheduled to be played in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9.