India’s captain Shreyas Iyer
Skipper’s Unbeaten 102 Helps India Chase Down 172 With Ease In First T20I Brief scores: West Indies 171 all out in 19.1 overs (S Hope 52, S Rutherford 56; N Dhir 3/31) lost to India 172/2 in 14.4 overs (S Iyer 102 not out, I Kishan 37 not out; A Hosein 1/37) by 8 wickets. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Lucknow | Silver Rate in Lucknow | Bank Holidays in Lucknow | Public Holidays in Lucknow | Lucknow AQI | Weather in Lucknow | Petrol Price in Lucknow | Diesel Price in Lucknow | CNG Price in Lucknow | LPG Price in Lucknow Stay updated with the latest Lucknow news. Download the TOI App.
Speedster Mayank Yadav, returning to the India set-up after an injury lay-off, had a difficult evening as the West Indies batters repeatedly took him on. He did, however, have the consolation of picking up Rutherford’s wicket in the penultimate over, with Dhir completing the catch at deep square leg.
Lucknow: Shreyas Iyer silenced his critics on Tuesday by scoring an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls as India chased down a tricky 172-run target with eight wickets and 32 balls to spare in the first T20I against West Indies here on Tuesday. Iyer, who was named India’s T20I captain when he made a comeback into the team after the 2026 T20 World Cup, was going through a tough phase and shortage of runs from the tour of England and Ireland in June. On Tuesday, however, Iyer showed why the selectors backed him after dropping 2026 T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav as he brought up his hundred off just 42 balls. 4 in the fourth over after openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson fell with the scoreboard reading 35/2, Iyer took full control of the chase. He outscored Ishan Kishan, who remained unbeaten on 37 off 27 after surviving a dropped chance, in a 137-run third-wicket partnership in just 11.1 overs. Iyer hit six sixes and 10 boundaries in his brutal assault on the West Indies bowling attack. In the earlier half of the match, debutant Naman Dhir made an immediate impact with his off-spin, picking up three wickets as India bowled out West Indies for 171. Dhir finished with impressive figures of 3/31, while Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with 2/33 as India kept the West Indies batting line-up under control after an explosive start. Hope’s 52 off 37 balls up front and Sherfane Rutherford ’s 56 off 34 at the back end took the visitors to 171. Kuldeep struck again soon after, trapping Roston Chase plumb in front as West Indies slipped to 114/5 after 12.3 overs.
The left-hander launched Kuldeep for a six in the ninth over and then took Axar for two boundaries and a six in the 11th. In his last T20 at the Ekana Stadium, Iyer had scored an unbeaten century for Punjab Kings against Lucknow Super Giants during the last edition of IPL. Coming out to bat at No. Sent in to bat, West Indies skipper Shai Hope wasted little time getting going. India eventually got their first breakthrough through Arshdeep Singh, who cleaned up Kamil Pooran with a full delivery. West Indies then suffered another setback in the sixth over when Shimron Hetmyer was run out attempting a needless single. Things got worse almost immediately. Axar struck in his second over, getting Rovman Powell to go for a big heave over square leg only to find himself bowled by a pitch-up delivery. Just when West Indies appeared to be losing their way, Sherfane Rutherford changed the momentum. Dhir ended his stay in the 12th over. Hope picked out deep midwicket, where Axar held on to the catch. Romario Shepherd briefly threatened to swing the momentum back, depositing Dhir over deep square leg for a six. But the debutant had the last laugh, returning to dismiss Shepherd, who holed out to long-off where Tilak Varma took the catch. Kuldeep then produced another moment of brilliance in the deep, with Ishan Kishan taking a fine catch at deep midwicket to send Rutherford back. Dhir completed his three-wicket haul by removing Shamar Springer. After being hit for a six off the previous delivery, Dhir tossed the ball up again and induced the big shot, with Axar taking the catch at the boundary.