India secured a comfortable eight-wicket win in the first T20I of the five-match series against the West Indies at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday, October 6.
Delving into the details of the game, West Indies was tasked with batting first, and they got bundled out for 171 runs in 19.1 overs. Shai Hope (52) and Sherfane Rutherford (56) were the top scorers as Naman Dhir picked up a three-wicket haul.
In the chase, India sealed the deal in just 14.4 overs with eight wickets in hand. Captain Shreyas Iyer was the top batter as he scored an unbeaten 102 off 43 with 10 fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 237.21.
On that note, let’s take a look at who said what after IND vs WI, 1st T20I.
Shreyas Iyer, India captain & Player of the Match:
[Do you feel at home in Lucknow?] Not really. After that exhausting travel, I didn’t realize where I was, to be honest. I think every day I just need to wake up like this. But yeah, I adapted quickly to the wicket, to the conditions, and I think bowling first helped us a lot. [How did you overcome the travel fatigue?] We just didn’t look at it as an excuse. We wanted to come and play as any other cricketer would, and yeah, we saw the excitement of India versus West Indies in the ODIs, how amazing it was. But coming into T20s, we know that they are a destructive side. So for us, it’s important that we stuck to the process, and that’s what we did today. So great efforts by every individual. [How special was your first T20I hundred?] Well, definitely exultant. That’s the word I would use today, (for the) the performance. And yeah, obviously speaking, I was actually thinking about getting my first century, and it came through. So, you know, I definitely want to say that dreams do come true.
[Do you want to overwhelm opponents like this?] Winning definitely tastes different, and that’s what we keep talking about in the dressing room. If it’s your day, make sure that you win the match for the team. And today it was me. Previous couple of games, it was the batsmen who finished off the game. So yeah, overall I feel it was a comprehensive performance, and I think if we continue with the same mindset, we will be one of the destructive teams in T20s. [How impressed were you with Naman Dhir’s bowling?] Yeah, special player, I must say. Like showing that attitude and approach, wanting to bowl in those crucial moments, he realized that the ball was turning, and then he capitalized on it. So commendable performance by him, and I love his attitude. [Will you get a long sleep tonight?] Looking forward to (it). I’m already sleepy. I could see Axar’s eyes as well have become red. So I’m sure all of us are.
Shai Hope, West Indies captain:
[What went wrong in the second half of the powerplay?] To be honest, you always put your finger on many parts in the game, but it just feels though we didn’t get enough runs in the backend. I thought we maybe been a little bit too chaotic in the batting. We very aggressive about playing. But yeah, when you’re playing in India, you gotta put runs on the board. You almost have to have like an extra 20 or 30 runs cushion because when you’re trying to defend with the ball, the wetness on the outfield, the surface tends to get a little bit better. So you gotta give yourself a little bit more cushion. [On the team composition] Well, sometimes you’d want a few more all-rounders to be bowling, some different options for you. But just the combination we had to go with today. You know, we expected guys to execute regardless of what skill set they bring to the table. But we just didn’t have enough to get over the line today against India. And like I said, when you’re setting a target, it’s always more difficult down here.
[Why hold your spinners back early on?] Ideally, I would like them to be able to bowl eight overs each. We only had two of them in our side at the point in time. So we wanted to, if you got a couple more wickets, you still had a few left-handers in your back end, we could get Chase to come in and do some damage in the middle. But it just didn’t work out for us today. You know, we wanted an extra spinner, but so many things you could look at in hindsight. But yeah, India played well and they played better than us today. [Are you enjoying your own form in India?] I just love batting here. So whenever I get an opportunity to come and play some cricket here, it always makes me happy.
Ishan Kishan:
(That single to give the strike to Shreyas Iyer, easy decision for you?) Yeah, I think he was in very good touch and to be very honest, looking from the other end, I felt it’s better to keep him on strike and not let the momentum stop. So my job was pretty easy in the middle, to just get off strike and let him play as many balls as he can. (In a partnership, when do you realise that you need to be the backseat driver?) I think you get to know in the middle. How the other batter is timing the ball, if I’m doing it better or he is doing it. And he looked in very good touch today. And I was not looking in such great touch, to be very honest. So I just felt it’s better to keep him on strike rather than just be on strike, try those shots, but at the same time, I wanted him to keep the momentum going.
(Talk us through that catch of yours, please) Yeah, I was not able to judge the ball because it was coming straight from the lights, but I had that slight intuition where I felt the ball’s gonna appear near my waist, so I just went for it and I’m just thankful that it was in my hand afterwards. (Twenty-four hours since you guys got back together, how’s the body feeling? What was the messaging around the dressing room before the start of this game?) Nothing, we just, you know, these things happen. You won’t get time, sometimes you’ll be put under pressure, but at the same time, looking at West Indies, how they have been playing cricket recently, our job was to, once we step on the field, once you wear the jersey, you have to give your all. Some days you won’t be feeling so good, but it’s our job to just give 100 percent if you’re there.
