Captain of India Shreyas Iyer added another milestone to his burgeoning international career by crossing 5,000 international runs during the first T20I against England at the Riverside Ground on Wednesday. The turning point came in the captaincy change when India needed it most. Going in with the visitors reeling at 6/2 after the early dismissals of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, Iyer anchored the innings with a composed 68 off 47 balls, hitting six fours and a six to take India to 189/7.
International career of Shreyas Iyer
| format | Matches | run | Average | 100’s | 50’s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 14 | 811 | 36.86 | 1 | 5 |
| GO | 79 | 3,035 | 45.98 | 5 | 23 |
| T20 Is | 54 | 1,185 | 30.38 | 0 | 9 |
| In total | 147 | 5,031 | 39.61 | 6 | 37 |
Iyer stands for India’s recovery
India’s innings got off to a disastrous start as Sanju Samson departed for one before Ishan Kishan was run out for a duck, leaving the visitors under immediate pressure. Abhishek Sharma he then launched a stunning counter-attack, racing to a 20-ball half-century before scoring 59 off just 24 deliveries. During his explosive knock, the left-hander also became the fastest batsman from a full member nation to hit 100 T20I sixes, eclipsing Evin Lewis’ record.After Abhishek’s dismissal, Iyer took full control of the innings. Skipper rebuilt with Tilak Varma before adding another valuable stand with Shivam Dubeensuring that India maintained the momentum through the middle overs. Dube provided the finishing touch with an unbeaten 42 off 21 balls, helping India post a competitive 189/7 despite England fighting back late on Saqib Mahmoodwhich returned figures of 3/33.Soon after the innings ended, the rain didn’t stop and spoilsports was played in the series opener and the game was abandoned because the stoppage time was in an extra 45 minutes after the first innings, but they don’t have enough time to prepare the field, even if the rain stopped, which it didn’t.
