Shreyas Iyer breaks Virat Kohli's record after maiden T20I century

Dubai: Shreyas Iyer put his name alongside some of India’s biggest T20I batting achievements after producing a blistering century against the West Indies in Lucknow on Tuesday.

The India captain finished unbeaten on 102 from only 43 deliveries as India chased down 172 with eight wickets to spare. His innings featured 10 fours and six sixes, with Iyer taking the attack to the West Indies from the moment he arrived at the crease.

The bigger milestone, however, came in the process of the chase.

Iyer became the first Indian captain to score a T20I century while chasing, surpassing Virat Kohli’s previous mark according to Times of India. Kohli had held the record since his unbeaten 94 off 50 balls against the West Indies in Hyderabad in 2019.

Iyer’s 102 also made him just the third Indian captain to register a T20I century. Rohit Sharma leads the list with three centuries as captain, while Suryakumar Yadav also has three, including his century against South Africa in December 2023.

For Iyer, the achievement was particularly significant given that it was his first century in T20I cricket. He reached the landmark in emphatic fashion, combining clean striking with an aggressive approach that left the West Indies attack struggling for answers.

The victory gave India an early lead in the series, but Iyer’s performance was the headline act. In his first T20I century, the captain not only secured a comfortable win but also moved past Kohli in a record that had stood since 2019.

Bari is an experienced sportswriter at Gulf News and has been a sports fanatic all his life. He has years of experience covering Golf, Basketball and American Football. He watches all the sports with the hope of learning something from each of them. With an MBA background and expertise in content management, he aims to deliver every news to the audience that helps create interest in the sport for the reader as well. His passion and enthusiasm for the world of sports is what drew him to the journalistic journey.