Lucknow, Oct 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) Skipper Shreyas Iyer produced a historic unbeaten 102 off 43 balls, and Naman Dhir made an impressive impact on debut as India thrashed West Indies by eight wickets in the first T20I at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday.
Chasing 172, India completed a dominant victory in just 14.4 overs, with Iyer smashing his maiden T20I century and his highest score in the format. His sensational knock included a century off just 42 balls, making it the second-fastest hundred against West Indies in T20Is, behind only Australia’s Tim David, who reached the landmark in 37 balls in 2025.
Iyer’s century was also the fastest by an Indian against West Indies in T20Is, bettering KL Rahul’s 46-ball hundred in Lauderhill in 2016. The India captain became only the third Indian captain to score a century in men’s T20Is, joining Rohit Sharma, who has three, and Suryakumar Yadav, who has one.
The 102 not out also surpassed Iyer’s previous best T20I score of 80 not out against England in Bristol earlier in 2026. Iyer brought up his 11th T20I fifty in just 28 balls, and it was only his second half-century since taking over the captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav. He received a loud ovation from the Ekana crowd as he took control of the chase following the early loss of both Indian openers.
India raced to 62/2 after six overs, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 21 and Sanju Samson making 11 before departing. Rather than allowing the early setbacks to slow the chase, Iyer continued to attack and found boundaries with regularity.
Ishan Kishan provided excellent support, scoring 37 off 27 balls as the pair stitched together a match-winning partnership of 137 off 68 balls. Kishan also completed 3,000 runs in international cricket during the chase.
India were 102/2 at the halfway stage, needing 70 from 60 balls, but the equation quickly became academic as Iyer accelerated. He reached his hundred from 42 balls and remained unbeaten on 102 from 43, while Kishan fell after making 37.
West Indies had a chance to break the partnership when Iyer clipped a Shamar Springer delivery towards square leg, and Matthew Forde came charging in from deep cover. Forde dived forward and appeared to have taken a low catch, but the on-field decision remained not out, and TV umpire Rohan Pandit reviewed the effort.
Replays showed the ball touching the ground between Forde’s fingers, confirming that the catch had not been completed. The decision left the West Indies camp frustrated, with Shai Hope and Akeal Hosein sharing smiles while head coach Daren Sammy was visibly unhappy in the dugout.
Earlier, Dhir, making his T20I debut, returned the third-best bowling figures by an Indian spinner on debut, claiming 3/31 from four overs as India bowled out West Indies for 171.
The visitors were given a brisk start by skipper Shai Hope, who took 16 runs off Mayank Yadav in the second over. India, however, responded strongly during the powerplay through Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel. Kamil Pooran was the first wicket to fall for 12 before Shimron Hetmyer was run out for five and Rovman Powell was dismissed for a duck. The three wickets left West Indies struggling at 44/3 after six overs.
Hope then steadied the innings alongside Sherfane Rutherford, with the pair adding an unbeaten 38-run stand to take West Indies to 82/3 at the drinks break. Rutherford was unbeaten on 18, while Hope continued to anchor the innings.
Powell’s dismissal extended his struggles against Axar. In T20 matches against the India all-rounder, Powell has now been dismissed twice, scoring only 17 runs off 13 balls. Hetmyer’s run-out also saw him move to the top of West Indies’ list for most run-outs in T20Is, with seven, ahead of Andre Fletcher’s six.
Axar’s excellent opening spell further strengthened his place among India’s leading bowlers for maiden overs in T20Is. His sixth maiden moved him behind only Jasprit Bumrah (13) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10), while his four wicket-maidens in overs 1-6 put him level with Bumrah and behind Bhuvneshwar’s six.
Hope continued to anchor the innings and brought up his 13th T20I fifty from 36 balls. However, the West Indies captain fell immediately after reaching the milestone, caught by Axar off Dhir for 52, ending a 63-run partnership with Rutherford.
Kuldeep Yadav then struck in successive overs, trapping Roston Chase for 5 before dismissing Matthew Forde for 2. Ishan Kishan produced a spectacular catch at deep midwicket to complete Forde’s dismissal, running to his left and holding on despite losing his balance.
Romario Shepherd briefly threatened to revive the innings with a six but was dismissed for 7 after slicing Dhir’s delivery to Tilak Varma at long-off. Dhir then completed his third wicket when Shamar Springer holed out to Axar after hitting the debutant for a maximum.
Rutherford remained the main source of resistance and smashed a brisk 56 off 31 balls for his seventh T20I fifty. His knock kept West Indies in the hunt after the visitors lost a flurry of wickets to India’s spinners through the middle overs.
Mayank eventually ended Rutherford’s stay, claiming his first wicket of the match, before Axar completed his second wicket to bowl West Indies out for 171.
Dhir finished with impressive figures of 3/31 from four overs, while Axar returned 2/26 from 3.1 overs and Kuldeep took 2/33 from four overs. Arshdeep Singh and Mayank Yadav also claimed a wicket each.
The victory gave India a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series, but it was Iyer’s remarkable innings and Dhir’s memorable debut that provided the defining moments of a one-sided contest.
Brief scores:
West Indies 171 all out in 19.1 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 56, Shai Hope 52; Naman Dhir 3-31, Axar Patel 2-26) lost to India 172/2 in 14.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 102, Ishan Kishan 37; Roston Chase 1-37) by eight wickets
Source: IANS
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