Shreyas Iyer scored a record-breaking century as India beat West Indies by eight wickets. It gave India a 1-0 series lead.
India captain Shreyas Iyer smashed his maiden T20 International century, finishing unbeaten on 102 off just 43 balls, to lead India to an eight-wicket victory over the West Indies in the first of five T20Is on Tuesday at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The win gave India a 1-0 series lead.
Chasing West Indies’ 171-run total, their highest at the Lucknow venue and joint 11th-highest total against India in T20 internationals, India lost opener Sanju Samson early for 11 before Iyer and Ishan Kishan steadied the innings with an unbroken 137-run partnership off 67 balls for the third wicket. Iyer reached his half-century in 26 balls before accelerating sharply, adding the next 50 in just 16 balls and completing his century off 42 deliveries, hitting six sixes and 10 fours along the way. The innings made him the first Indian captain to score a century in a run-chase in T20I history and the third Indian batsman, after KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, to reach three figures against the West Indies in the format. Kishan finished unbeaten on 37 as India completed the chase in 14.4 overs, with 32 balls to spare.
West Indies had made a promising start with the ball, with Arshdeep Singh dismissing Kamil Pooran for 12 and Shimron Hetmyer run out for 5, but could not sustain the pressure once Iyer and Kishan took control. Earlier, debutant Indian bowler Naman Dhir impressed, taking three wickets as India’s spin attack accounted for seven of West Indies’ 10 wickets in restricting the tourists to 171. The result followed India’s 2-1 ODI series win over the West Indies last week. The two sides play the second T20I on Friday in Ranchi.
This report is based on information from the Associated Press (via The Washington Times), Outlook India, India.com and CricHighlightsVidz.