'The crowd was teasing me' - Shreyas Iyer reveals story behind on-field dance in 1st ODI against West Indies

India beat West Indies in the first ODI of the ongoing three-match series by three runs in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on July 22, Friday. It was a thriller of a contest between the two teams, however, there was one incident involving Shreyas Iyer on the field that caught the eye of the fans.

Iyer, after completing the catch  of Shamarh Brooks in the 24th over, celebrated the wicket with a unique dance move. He narrated the story behind the celebration after the game to his teammate Mohammed Siraj. He revealed that, prior to the catch, the crowd were teasing him, urging him to drop a catch. Hence, when a catch came his way, he completed it and celebrated with a dance.

When a catching opportunity came, I danced like them: Shreyas Iyer

“Tell us about those dance moves with the crowd. What was going on there?” asked Siraj. “They were teasing me, saying ‘Drop a catch, drop a catch’. So when a catching opportunity came, I danced like them [the West Indies players],” replied Iyer. The Indian fast bowler asked Iyer to show the “moves”. And the 27-year-old recreated the celebrations.

Dance moves by Shreyas Iyer from 0.38 seconds.pic.twitter.com/Lbyu1R5y2m

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 23, 2022

Iyer, coming into this game, was under a lot of criticism because of his weakness against short balls, which was exposed in the previous England tour. He batted at No. 3 and scored a well-made 54 runs off 57 balls. The top scorer of the innings was the skipper Shikhar Dhawan with 97 runs off 99 balls.

India went on to score 308/7 in 50 overs. The pick of the West Indies bowlers was Gudakesh Motie, picking up two wickets for 54 runs in 10 overs. During their chase, opener Kyle Mayers top-scored with 75 runs off 68 balls, complemented by Bandon King at No. 4, who scored 54 off 66. 

During the chase, West Indies managed to put on 305 on board for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs. The pick of the Indian bowlers was Siraj, who bagged two wickets for 57 runs in 10 overs. The second ODI is set to take place on Sunday (July 24) at the same venue.