India batsman Shreyas Iyer is hoping that his 71-run knock in the second ODI against the West Indies will help him keep a consistent place in the team, crediting his stint with the A side for the impressive show.

Coming into the team after a year, Iyer, who has a couple of fifties in the five ODIs that he has played, produced a 68-ball 71 to play a crucial role in India’s 59-run win.

Batting at number five, Iyer added 125 runs with skipper Virat Kohli (120). Kohli, in the post-match presentation, lauded the batsman for keeping the pressure off him during the partnership.

“I want to stay in the team for a while, the consistency is always important, I want to play well and contribute to the team,” said the 24-year-old, who didn’t get game time during the T20 series.

Iyer, who scored two fifties for India A during their tour of West Indies last month, said familiarity with the conditions gave him the confidence of doing well in the ODI series.

“It was a fruitful day. I knew I was going to do well, I played for India A and I played in these grounds, paced my innings well and think it went well,” said Iyer.

Talking about his partnership with captain Kohli, Iyer said: “I decided that I wouldn’t take any risks, Virat told me that we needed to build a partnership and take the innings deep.

“He supported me very well, we took the ones and twos, hit the boundaries when it came. We decided 250 was a good score, obviously we got 30 runs extra. He told me to bat at least until the 45th over, I am thankful for what I managed.”