Shreyas Iyer unleashed a blistering 42-ball maiden T20I century as India made light work of a 172-run target, romping home with eight wickets and 32 balls to spare in Lucknow.
On a pitch offering grip for spin, India’s slow bowlers laid the foundation by restricting West Indies to 171, before Iyer’s brutal hitting turned a potentially tricky chase into a procession and extended India’s winning streak in the format to 10 matches.
Having lost his fourth toss of the tour—making it 14 losses in 17 tosses for Iyer as international captain—Shai Hope was again asked to set the pace under challenging conditions.
Hope, who entered the match in sparkling touch following two ODI centuries, gave West Indies a flyer by driving and flicking Mayank Yadav for four boundaries in the second over to push the score to 21 for 0.
India quickly regained momentum through Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel. Arshdeep adjusted his length early, relying on tight yorkers to force international debutant Kamil Pooran into playing onto his stumps. Axar then delivered the knockout blow in the final over of the powerplay with a double-wicket maiden.
Shimron Hetmyer was unluckily run out when his bat bounced up on a dive and failed to stay grounded inside the crease, before Axar bowled Rovman Powell with a straight delivery as the batter missed an ambitious slog. West Indies finished the powerplay at a subdued 44 for 3.
A mid-innings recovery saw Hope and Sherfane Rutherford add 56 off five overs, giving West Indies a second wind. Rutherford targeted Kuldeep Yadav with two crisp sixes, and the pair looted 18 runs off Axar’s 11th over, forcing India to turn to their fifth bowling option.
Enter Naman Dhir. On T20I debut, the off-spinning all-rounder relied on subtle pace variations and the large square boundaries to break the partnership.
After Hope hoisted him for a six early in his spell, Dhir smartly took pace off to draw a miscue to deep midwicket. He repeated the tactic twice more, tossing slow, wide deliveries to entice mishits from Romario Shepherd and Shamar Springer, with both catches comfortably taken in the deep.
Despite half-centuries from Hope and Rutherford, West Indies faltered in the back end to finish on 171—a total that left them short of a winning score even on a gripping surface.
Chasing 172, India’s high-octane openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson fell early as Roston Chase and Akeal Hosein found just enough turn to extract mis-timed shots.
At 36 for 2 in the fourth over, West Indies had reason to believe, but their attack lacked the spin depth needed to squeeze an Indian lineup with Axar entry-level as low as No. 8.
Iyer dispelled any lingering tension, combining with Ishan Kishan to collect 26 runs off the remaining powerplay overs. By the halfway stage, India were comfortably placed at 102 for 2, needing 70 off 60 balls, with Iyer well set on 45.
From there, Iyer shifted into overdrive. He went on an unsparing rampage, launching six sixes off his next 18 deliveries. He saved his most brutal assault for Matthew Forde in the 14th over, bludgeoning 24 runs to gallop into the nineties.
With Kishan turning the strike over efficiently, Iyer capped the chase by hammering another flat six to reach his maiden T20I century—his second hundred at the venue this year—sealing a crushing victory in 14.4 overs.
Source: NEW ROOMS SITE
