Photo via Onmanorama

India beat West Indies by 8 wickets in first T20I; Iyer hits maiden ton

India kicked off their five-match T20I series against the West Indies with a commanding eight-wicket victory in Lucknow. The hosts restricted the visitors to 171 runs, with debutant bowler Naman Dhir leading the attack by claiming three wickets for just 31 runs.

Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford provided early resistance, scoring 52 and 56 respectively, but India’s spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav dismantled the batting lineup, taking four wickets between them. Axar finished with two wickets for 26 runs, while Kuldeep added two for 33, as India’s bowlers stifled the opposition’s momentum in the middle overs.

Chasing the target, India faced a shaky start after early wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. However, skipper Shreyas Iyer turned the game around with a brilliant unbeaten century—his first in T20Is—scoring 102 off just 42 balls.

His aggressive batting, including a straight six off Roston Chase to reach his milestone, propelled India to a comfortable win in just 14.4 overs. Partnering with Ishan Kishan, who scored 37 not out, Iyer’s explosive innings formed an unbeaten 137-run stand for the third wicket, sealing the victory with 32 balls remaining.

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