Lucknow: Captain Shreyas Iyer produced one of the great T20I innings on Tuesday night, smashing an unbeaten 102 off just 43 balls as India hunted down West Indies’ 171 with 32 balls to spare at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. The eight-wicket win gives India a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Brief scores: West Indies 171 all out in 19.1 overs (Shai Hope 52, Sherfane Rutherford 56; Naman Dhir 3/31, Axar Patel 2/26) lost to India 172/2 in 14.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 102*, Ishan Kishan 37*; Akeal Hosein 1/28) by 8 wickets.
A hundred for the ages
Walking in at 35 for 2, Iyer took complete control of the chase. He reached his fifty off 28 balls and needed only 14 more deliveries to raise his maiden T20I century — a 42-ball hundred that is the fastest by an Indian against West Indies, eclipsing KL Rahul’s 46-ball effort at Lauderhill in 2016.
The knock, studded with 10 fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 237.21, also made Iyer only the third Indian captain to score a men’s T20I hundred, joining Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. It bettered his previous best of 80* against England in Bristol earlier this year.
Kishan plays the perfect foil
Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 37 off 27 balls may not grab headlines, but his 137-run stand with Iyer off just 68 balls broke West Indies’ resistance. Kishan also crossed 3,000 international runs during the innings. Earlier, Abhishek Sharma (21) and Sanju Samson (11) fell cheaply, briefly giving the tourists hope.
Dhir stars on debut
India’s bowlers set up the win. Debutant Naman Dhir, drafted in after Washington Sundar’s withdrawal, returned 3 for 31, while Axar Patel (2/26) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/33) choked the middle overs. West Indies, powered by fifties from Shai Hope (52) and Sherfane Rutherford (56), were bowled out with five balls unused.
What this means
India’s chase — completed in 14.4 overs — was a statement of intent ahead of a packed home season. For West Indies, the concern is their inability to defend even a competitive total once one batter goes big. The second T20I promises a fascinating response from Shai Hope’s men.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
