Shreyas Iyer Maiden T20I Century Powers India To Eight-Wicket Win

Shreyas Iyer’s maiden T20I century carried India to an eight-wicket win over West Indies in the first T20I at the Ekana International Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday. The India captain finished unbeaten on 102 from 43 balls. He reached three figures off 42. India were set 172 and got there in 14.4 overs, with 32 balls unused. It was a tenth consecutive T20I win for India.

West Indies held to 171

West Indies batted first and made 171. Shai Hope was the one innings of substance, 52 from 37 balls. Three days earlier the same batter had made 162 not out in New Chandigarh. That innings won the third ODI with a record chase of 352. This time West Indies could not build around him.

Naman Dhir took three for 31 on his T20I debut. India had taken the preceding ODI series, Shubman Gill making 223 not out in Guwahati before Hope answered in New Chandigarh. The T20Is opened with India bowling first. Dhir bowled his four overs for 31.

The 43-ball hundred

India lost two wickets in the chase and no more. Iyer and Ishan Kishan were together at the finish. Neither was dismissed. The target went down inside 15 overs.

The hundred was Iyer’s first in T20 internationals. India’s winning run in the format reached ten matches with it. Speaking afterwards, in remarks carried by the ICC, Iyer said: “if we continue with the same mindset we will be one of the most destructive teams in T20I cricket.”

Four India batters inside the T20I top ten

The ICC published updated T20I batting rankings on Wednesday. Iyer climbed 18 places to seventh. India hold four of the top ten places:

• Ishan Kishan, first
• Abhishek Sharma, second
• Shreyas Iyer, seventh
• Tilak Varma, tenth

Axar Patel moved up 16 places to seventh in the T20I bowling list in the same update. Rashid Khan replaced Abrar Ahmed at the top of it.

Hope climbs the ODI list

The same ICC update moved Hope to sixth among ODI batters. Gill leads that list on 841 rating points. KL Rahul is equal tenth, up seven places. Jayden Seales is now tenth among ODI bowlers, a rise of 12 places.

Ranchi next, then Indore

Wisden’s published schedule has the second T20I in Ranchi on Friday. Indore follows on 11 October, then Hyderabad on 14 October and Bengaluru on 17 October. West Indies have four matches left. India named a separate 16-man T20I squad for New Zealand this week. That tour starts in Christchurch on 22 October. The squad for it was announced on Tuesday, a day before the rankings update landed, and Iyer leads that side too.