Barely 24 hours after landing in the country following a successful Asian Games campaign, captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front as India won by eight wickets. In the chase, Iyer scored a fine maiden T20I century as India chased down a 170-plus target in less than 15 overs. Debutant Naman Dhir took three wickets, while others contributed as well.
India checked almost all the boxes during the first T20I against Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Barely 24 hours after landing in the country following a successful Asian Games campaign, captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front as India won by eight wickets
He was out for 11. In the Asian Games, his scores read 9, 7, and 2. Barring the two half-centuries against Afghanistan last month, Samson’s form in T20Is has not been great since the 2026 T20 World Cup. The captain reached his maiden T20 hundred after 42 balls — tied for the sixth-fastest century by an India player in the format — as the hosts finished with 172-2 in 14.4 overs, chasing West Indies’ 171 all out (19.1 overs). Iyer hit six sixes and 10 fours. Ishan Kishan scored 37 not out, as the duo put on 137 off 67 balls for the third wicket. Shai Hope (52) and Sherfane Rutherford (56) hit half-centuries for the visitors to help recover from 135-8, but it was an under-par score against the reigning T20 world champions.
He has also said before that when there is pressure from competition behind him, he cannot perform. He must be feeling that pressure,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel. However, Sanju Samson could not score big. “The biggest question is another failure for Samson. How long a rope can he get? I am a big fan, and I would like him to play. But I think he is feeling insecure. And now, Vaibhav is behind him.
That’s why, if you remember, when Ishan made a comeback in the New Zealand series before the World Cup, Samson did not perform. The second match is on Friday in Ranchi.
