Shreyas Iyer won his first game as T20I captain on Thursday after a run of six defeats since replacing Suryakumar Yadav at the helm earlier this year.
The defending T20 world champions lost 2-0 to Ireland, in what was a major upset, before a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of England in a five-match series. However, the wait was finally over for Shreyas as India beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the first T20I of a three-match series in Harare.
The victory came as a big relief for the under-fire India captain Shreyas, and former cricketer Sadagopan Ramesh warranted the celebrations, considering the recent results.
“Many are saying India shouldn’t be so excited for just a win over Zimbabwe. Yet, when you are starving for a victory for so long in T20Is, even leftover food will taste like a wedding meal. Shreyas Iyer will be relieved, considering India’s fall under his captaincy. He would have reached a point where a win over anyone would have been enough for him,” Ramesh said in a video uploaded on Instagram.
Ramesh also praised VVS Laxman for delivering results as India’s interim head coach, especially when the team is losing elsewhere.
“VVS Laxman also deserves high praise. India perform well every time he’s the head coach. Under him, India seem to always whitewash the opponents, even at a time the other teams are constantly whitewashing India otherwise. It got to the point where India just needed a win of any kind and hence their elation after beating even Zimbabwe,” he added.
Meanwhile, India’s teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi created history by becoming the youngest player to score a fifty in men’s international cricket after smashing a 18-ball half-century against Zimbabwe in the first T20I.
Sooryavanshi reached his maiden international fifty at the age of 15 years and 118 days, surpassing the previous record held by former India great Sachin Tendulkar, who was 16 years and 213 days old when he scored his maiden international fifty against Pakistan in a Test at Faisalabad in 1989.