Yuzvendra Chahal lauds Shreyas Iyer’s maiden T20I century against West Indies in 1st T20I

Shreyas Iyer (Source: BCCI)

Shreyas Iyer scored an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls in the 1st T20I against West Indies at Lucknow on October 6, 2026, recording his maiden T20I century. India chased down West Indies’ total of 171 runs in 14.4 overs, winning by 8 wickets with 32 balls to spare.

Iyer struck 10 fours and 6 sixes during his knock. He reached his half-century off 28 balls and added the next 52 runs off just 15 balls. His century is also recognised as joint-third fastest by a captain from a full-member team in T20Is.

India were placed at 35/2 before Iyer and Ishan Kishan steadied the chase with an unbroken 137-run third-wicket partnership. Kishan remained unbeaten on 37 off 27 balls through that stand.

What did Yuzvendra Chahal say about Shreyas Iyer’s batting?

Yuzvendra Chahal praised Iyer’s attacking mindset and improved timing during a discussion on Star Sports after the match. Chahal highlighted how Iyer’s ability to play across the crease and use the full width of the crease has made it difficult for bowlers to settle on a plan against him. Chahal also drew on his own experience of bowling to Iyer in the nets to explain the improvement in his batting.

“Definitely, attacking the mind. When Shreyas came at the start, he used to go back and play the cut. Now he comes across, and if the midwicket fielder is up, he has that option as well. If you bowl outside the off-stump, his reach is so good that he plays over cover and mid-off. So, the bowler gets slightly stuck there as to what he should do when he is not getting any help from the wicket,” Chahal said on Star Sports

“When I bowled to him in the nets, I had to bowl wider, or else he used to easily hit me over cover for a six. One or one-and-a-half years ago, he used to hit hard, but nowadays he times the ball, and that’s the specialty because of which his batting has improved so much,” he added.

How did Sunil Gavaskar assess Shreyas Iyer’s innings?

Sunil Gavaskar also shared his observations, noting that Iyer was reading bowlers’ intentions and anticipating their plans throughout the innings. Gavaskar pointed to Iyer’s movement at the crease against Romario Shepherd as a specific example of that awareness.

“In batting, especially in T20s, you challenge the bowler’s mindset a little. You also guess. When you play chess, you guess what the next move would be. So you think as a batter where the bowler would bowl. When Romario Shepherd was bowling, he was going back and very much across. Batters go back and across toward the off-stump, but he was going outside the off-stump because he knew Shepherd would try to bowl only outside the off-stump. That’s why he played the lofted extra cover drive and lofted off-drive. He read the bowler’s mind, and that’s why he was able to get into those positions. Brilliant batting, sensational batting,”Gavaskar said, via the aforementioned source.

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