Shreyas Iyer's happiness knew no bounds after India registered the first T20I series win under his captaincy on Saturday. After the dismal start to his tenure as the skipper in Ireland and England, the Men in Blue bounced back strongly in Harare to defeat Zimbabwe by 90 runs in the second T20I to gain an unassailable lead in the three-match series. Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma set up the win for the visitors, and Zimbabwe had no chance of coming back into the contest after India posted 219 runs on the board.
After the win, Shreyas was over the moon as he hailed his side for not backing down against any challenge. However, he kept his cards close to his chest when asked whether the management would make any changes in the playing XI for the final T20I on Sunday.
“I feel exultant, especially the way we won today. It was a comprehensive win, and yeah, brilliant contribution from each and every one. I feel it's all about the attitude, not dwelling too much on the previous or past performances. You keep going forward, and more importantly, you are in the present. You've got to maximise the opportunity that you're getting, and tomorrow is going to be another one. So looking forward to it,” Shreyas said at the post-match presentation.
“Let's see (will there be changes?). We haven't decided. I haven't spoken to the coach yet. So we'll see one of our players. He got injured, unfortunately, so there won't be a couple of changes,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Let's see (will there be changes?). We haven't decided. I haven't spoken to the coach yet. So we'll see one of our players. He got injured, unfortunately, so there won't be a couple of changes,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Ishan Kishan, India's wicketkeeper-batter, mixed caution with aggression up front as he formed a valuable stand with Shreyas for the third wicket. However, as soon as the batter brought up his half-century, he changed gears and went hell for leather against all bowlers. Kishan took a special liking to Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza and smacked him all over the ground.
The southpaw also received great support from Tilak Varma at the other end, and the duo plundered runs for fun to help India post more than 200 runs on the board. While Kishan scored 81, Tilak remained unbeaten on 60.
“I think the way Kishan and Tilak played. I think a few of the shots they played were a raka maka. Yeah, it was just pleasing to the eye, bringing the total to 220. I understand the way we got it. I thought that 180 to 200 would be a par score, but we ended up getting 220, which is like icing on the cake,” said Shreyas.
Men in Blue return to winning ways
After debacles in Ireland and England, Shreyas would be a happy chappy after India finally returned to winning ways. The second T20I saw India posting 219/5 in 20 overs owing to Kishan and Tilak's heroics.
Abhishek Sharma then took three scalps while Yash Thakur and Prince Yadav took two each as India bundled out Zimbabwe for 129 to register a comprehensive 90-run win.
The second T20I also saw Prince walking off the field after suffering a hamstring injury. He just bowled 1.2 overs in the game and is likely to miss the third and final T20I on Sunday.