CHENNAI: Shreyas Iyer led from the front both in the field and with the bat as India beat West Indies in the first of the five-match T20I series in Lucknow on Tuesday. After opting to bowl first, the skipper rang in the changes to restrict the visitors to 171. Even though the hosts were in trouble at one point as they had lost both openers for 35 in just 3.3 overs, Iyer used the long handle to devastating effect. In the end, his unbeaten 43-ball 102 meant the visiting attack stood no chance; the hosts ultimately won the match with eight wickets and 32 balls to spare.
A typical Ekana surface can be hard to get away from, especially for players not accustomed to the conditions, including the dimensions of the boundary. Spinners are always in the game and that proved to be the case as Axar Patel (2/26), Naman Dhir (3/31) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/23) ran through the spine of the batting order. Sherfane Rutherford helped himself to a half-century (56 off 34) but he didn't get the necessary support from the middle-order.
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, the opening pair who were instrumental in India winning the T20I World Cup in March, were reunited up top as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was tasked with carrying the drinks. They didn't provide the necessary pyrotechnics but it didn't matter as the No. 4 provided the fireworks. At his best, he's a touch player but he can also clear the boundary rope with ease. And he's also blessed with a deceptively quick change of tempo in the middle overs, at a time when sides routinely struggle with a risk-reward dilemma.
The 31-year-old, playing his 68th T20I, helped himself to a hat-trick of boundaries off Romario Shepherd in the ninth over to serve notice of his ambitions. Off Akeal Hosein, he made some room to loft a length ball on middle over extra cover. The designated pace-hitter went after Matthew Forde as well with a sequence of 6, 6, 1, 4 and 6 in the 14th over. Pretty soon, the match was over.
Brief scores: West Indies 171 in 19.1 ovs (Hope 52, Rutherford 56, Axar 2/26, Kuldeep 2/33, Naman 3/31) lost to India 172/2 in 14.4 ovs (Kishan 37 n.o, Shreyas 102 n.o).
