Lucknow: India captain Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten, phenomenal maiden T20I century set the tone as India crushed the West Indies by eight wickets in the opening match of the five-match T20I series, comfortably taking a 1-0 lead on Tuesday, 6th October, at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
India’s spin bowling spearheaded the attack as they shared seven wickets between them, with debutant Naman Dhir impressing with a superb three-wicket haul to restrict the West Indies to 171. Shreyas Iyer then stunningly took charge of the chase and turned it into a completely one-sided contest, producing an unbeaten and magnificent 102 off 43 balls to register his maiden T20I hundred. He also found excellent support from Ishan Kishan, who played an unbeaten and impressive knock of 37 off 27 balls, as India raced to 172 for 2 in just 14.4 overs, with 32 balls to spare.
The opening match began with India winning the toss and electing to bowl first. Batting first, the West Indies made a steady start as Shai Hope struck a few good boundaries against Mayank Yadav early on. However, Arshdeep Singh provided the first breakthrough by removing debutant Kamil Pooran for 12 off 11 balls. The West Indies then lost two more wickets in quick succession as Axar Patel delivered a double-wicket maiden. Shimron Hetmyer, who scored 5 off 2 balls, suffered a run-out before Axar dismissed Rovman Powell for a duck, leaving the West Indies at 44/3 at the end of the powerplay. The West Indies found some momentum again as Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford took charge of the recovery from the early setback. The duo stitched together a valuable 63-run partnership, with Shai Hope bringing up his half-century off 36 balls. However, Naman Dhir ended the partnership by dismissing Hope shortly after he reached his fifty. Hope went on to score an important 52 off 37 balls. The West Indies then suffered a slight lower-order collapse, losing four wickets, while Naman Dhir continued to impress, claiming three wickets and finishing with fine figures of 3/31 from his four overs. Rutherford, along with Akeal Hosein, who was playing his 100th T20I and became only the fourth West Indian player to reach the landmark, built a brief but crucial 36-run partnership off 18 balls. Rutherford continued his attacking approach and brought up his half-century before Mayank Yadav dismissed him for 56 off 34 balls in the second-last over. Axar Patel then completed the innings by taking the final wicket, as the West Indies were bowled out for 171 with five balls still to spare.
Chasing 172, India got off to a flying start as openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma scored 15 runs in the opening over. However, both soon lost their wickets to the West Indies’ spin attack. Roston Chase removed Abhishek Sharma for 21 off 10 balls, while Akeal Hosein dismissed Sanju Samson for 11 off 9 balls, leaving India at 35/2 after 3.3 overs. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan then came together and brought the momentum completely back in India’s favour. The duo produced a stunning unbeaten 137-run partnership off 67 balls for the third wicket. Shreyas Iyer took charge of the innings in a commanding and aggressive fashion, reaching his half-century off 28 balls and completing his 11th T20I half-century. He then launched a spectacular assault, smashing three sixes and four boundaries to collect 24 runs in the 14th over against Matthew Forde. The Indian captain needed only 14 deliveries after reaching his half-century to bring up a breathtaking maiden T20I century off just 42 balls. Iyer became only the third Indian captain to score a T20I century, after Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. It was also the fourth-highest score by an Indian captain in men’s T20Is. Iyer added a single from the next delivery to complete the chase, as India reached 172/2 in 14.4 overs with 32 balls to spare. Ishan Kishan also remained unbeaten on a fluent 37 off 27 balls as India sealed an emphatic eight-wicket victory in completely comfortable fashion and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. Shreyas Iyer’s brilliant knock made the chase decisively one-sided. He remained unbeaten with a stunning 102 off 43 balls, smashing 10 boundaries and six sixes at a superb strike rate of 237.21. For his match-winning performance, Iyer was deservedly awarded Player of the Match.
India will now face the West Indies again in the second T20I on 9th October at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.
