Rohit Sharma "Fearless Captain, His Body Language Is Infectious": Shreyas Iyer

Following his team's 70-run win over New Zealand in the semifinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup, Indian middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer has said that the backing from coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma has been pivotal for him and he faces Jasprit Bumrah in the nets for preparation. Mohammed Shami's seven-wicket haul and Virat Kohli's record 50th ODI century were the highlights as India secured a 70-wicket win over New Zealand in the semifinals of the Cricket World Cup at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

"Rohit sets the template, gives us the starts where we have to just go and carry forward from the base he gives. He is a fearless captain. You can see that in his body language and it's kind of infectious, rubs off on all the players," told Iyer to Star Sports.

"(On the backing from the management) It is pivotal, coming from the captain and coach. I did not have a great start to the World Cup. They told me not to worry about the outside noise, we are backing you, so you just got to go out there and express yourself. (About handling pressure) To be honest, in pressure situations, you tend to get nervous but at the same time it is also fun playing in front of so many people and if you perform they lift you up. (How intense are the net sessions given the quality of the bowling attack) It is definitely intense. We see to it that we play the most difficult bowler. Whenever Bumrah comes with the new ball I face him because you know it's going to be difficult and it helps you for the matches," he added.

Shreyas Iyer on Wednesday made history, becoming the first middle-order batter to smash 500 runs or more in a single edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

With his second successive century in the tournament during the