India captain Shreyas Iyer added another milestone to his growing international career by crossing 5,000 international runs during the first T20I against England at the Riverside Ground on Wednesday. The landmark came in a captain’s innings when India needed it the most. Walking 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, striking six fours and a six to guide India to 189/7.
Shreyas Iyer’s International Career
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 14 | 811 | 36.86 | 1 | 5 |
| ODIs | 79 | 3,035 | 45.98 | 5 | 23 |
| T20Is | 54 | 1,185 | 30.38 | 0 | 9 |
| Total | 147 | 5,031 | 39.61 | 6 | 37 |
Iyer anchors 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 then launched a stunning counterattack, racing to a 20-ball half-century before hammering 59 off just 24 deliveries. During his explosive knock, the left-hander also became the fastest batter from a Full Member nation to hit 100 T20I sixes, eclipsing Evin Lewis’ record.Following Abhishek’s dismissal, Iyer assumed complete control of the innings. The skipper rebuilt with Tilak Varma before adding another valuable stand with Shivam Dube, ensuring India maintained momentum through the middle overs. Dube provided the finishing flourish with an unbeaten 42 off 21 balls, helping India post a competitive 189/7 despite England fighting back late through Saqib Mahmood, who returned figures of 3/33.Shortly after the innings ended, rain never stopped and played the spoilsports in the series opener and match was abandoned as cut off time was in another 45 minutes or so after first innings but they don’t have enough time to get the ground ready, even if it stopped raining which it hasn’t.
