"I enjoyed Surya's batting more than mine"- Venkatesh Iyer

Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer may have smashed a rapid unbeaten 19-ball 35 in the third T20I against the West Indies, but the Madhya Pradesh cricketers revealed that he enjoyed his partner-in-crime Suryakumar Yadav's blitz at the other end.

Iyer and Surya lit up the iconic Eden Gardens on Sunday evening as they carted the West Indian attack to all corners of the stadium.

Iyer joined Surya at the crease at a time when India were in desperate need of a partnership, that too at the rapid rate. The hosts had just lost skipper Rohit Sharma for an underwhelming 14-ball 7, and with the score reading 4/93 in 13.5 overs, SKY and Venkatesh decided to take matters in their hands.

As usual, Yadav showcased his 360-degree stroke-play to the hilt. He cut, pulled, scooped and even played a sumptuous square-drive over point, leaving the on-lookers gobsmacked.

Iyer, on the other hand, once again showcased his versatility and an array of stroke play as the duo hammered 91 runs off just 37 deliveries to help India rack up an eventual match-winning total of 184/5.

Speaking to Star Sports during the innings break, Venkatesh said, "More than I enjoyed my batting, I enjoyed his (Surya’s) batting. Really happy to have contributed to the partnership. I think every shot of his has a touch of grace. There is thought behind it but he just stands out. That pick up shot over the leg-side of his is great. My shot was on the cards and it was Surya’s idea for me to shuffle and scoop it,"

Iyer wasn't done yet as he backed up his batting exploits with a brilliant spell, which saw him claim prized scalps of Kieron Pollard and Jason Holder.

Harshal Patel once again proved to be the pick of the bowlers for India as he finished with figures of 3/22 in four overs. India eventually restricted the West Indies to 167/9 despite cameos from Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd and yet another half-century from Nicholas Pooran.

As far as Surya is concerned, the stylish middle-order batsman smashed 65 off 31 deliveries with the help of 1 four and as many as 7 sixes. This was Surya's 4th T20I half-century in just his 12th innings.

Overall, he smashed 107 runs in three innings at a strike-rate of 194.55 and was adjudged both the 'Player of the Match' and 'Player of the series'.