Shreyas Iyer smashed his maiden T20I hundred the way a captain hopes a landmark arrives: with a clean, towering six, and in a run-chase.
On 95 in the 15th over against West Indies at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday, he saw Roston Chase toss one up and hammered it over long-on. The shot took him to 101 off 42 balls, the fastest T20I century by an Indian batter against West Indies, and the first hundred of his T20I career.
He finished unbeaten on 102 off 43 balls, with 10 fours and six sixes, as India chased 172 and won by eight wickets with 32 balls to spare.
T20I hundreds as India captain
Shreyas Iyer became only the third India captain to score a T20I hundred, after Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. The full list now reads:
121* – Rohit Sharma vs AFG, Bengaluru, 2024
118 – Rohit Sharma vs SL, Indore, 2017
111* – Rohit Sharma vs WI, Lucknow, 2018
102* – Shreyas Iyer vs WI, Lucknow, 2026
100 – Suryakumar Yadav vs SA, Johannesburg, 2023
Special feat achieved
Shreyas Iyer is the only one to have registered a century in a run-chase. The previous highest by an India captain while batting second in T20Is was 94* by Virat Kohli against the same opponent in Hyderabad in 2019. Rohit’s three captain’s hundreds, and Suryakumar’s one, all came while India were batting first. Iyer’s 102 not out is the first time an India captain has reached three figures with a target in front of him.
He had already made a hundred at this ground earlier this year, a maiden Indian Premier League century for Punjab Kings against Lucknow Super Giants. West Indies had been bowled out for 171 in 19.1 overs. A strike rate of 237.20, six sixes, and a first T20I hundred brought up in a chase. For India’s captain, the series could not have opened with a louder statement.
What the captain said
India captain and Player of the Match, Shreyas Iyer said: “We wanted to come and play as any cricketer would. We just looked at the excitement of playing West Indies. I was actually thinking about getting my maiden T20I century and it came through. Winning tastes different. Today it was me who finished off the game. I think if we continue with the same mindset, we will be one of the most destructive teams.”