Shreyas Iyer hit an unbeaten half-century as India defeated New Zealand by six wickets and with an over to spare in the first T20 International in Auckland on Friday.
The middle order batsman put on an exhibition of power-hitting to remain not out on 58 off 29 and take his team home from a tricky situation.
The 25-year-old walked in to bat at No 4 at the end of the 10th over after opener KL Rahul was dismissed for a scintillating 27-ball 56. India, chasing 204 to win, needed 89 off 60 at that time and skipper Virat Kohli was at the other end.
However, Kohli perished at the start of the 12th over and Shivam Dube added only 13 runs to leave India’s chase in a precarious position.
Iyer, though, didn’t panic and got together with Manish Pandey, who remained not out on 14 off 12, to give India a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The right-hander’s knock was studded with five fours and three sixes and gave the large number of India fans at the Eden Park a lot to cheer for. He was also declared the Player of the Match.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Iyer’s brilliant innings:
Top knock by Shreyas. Top win by India. India’s Third highest run-chase fighting the away conditions and jet-lag. Well done 👍 #NZvInd
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 24, 2020
What a blinder from #ShreyasIyer! Pure talent. Way to go boy! Superb chase. #NZvsIND
— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) January 24, 2020
Fantastic win for India to start the New Zealand tour. A record 4th time that India have chased 200+ in T20 I. Good all round batting effort with Rahul, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer playing beauties. And under the circumstances,some really tight bowling from Bumrah and Chahal #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/qTGdXDBas3
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 24, 2020
This man Shreyas Iyer is a class act. He is playing around with Kiwi bowlers.
— Madhav Sharma (@HashTagCricket) January 24, 2020
Shreyas Iyer's knock is a good example of how having a proper number four batsman (and giving him exposure in that situation) helps. #NZvInd
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) January 24, 2020
In 24 minutes, Shreyas Iyer showed us all why is he one of the best cricketing talents to come out of Indian shores. He is going to be big in the next decade.❤👍🏻#NZvsIND #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/Wt12nMmAKW
— V I P E R™ (@Offl_TheViper) January 24, 2020
As Ian Smith called in the commentary box "Remember This Name!!"
— Samagra Adhikari (@samagra_1) January 24, 2020
Shreyas Iyer, you little beauty..💙👑#NZvIND pic.twitter.com/P5UqLFRYmm
Shreyas Iyer did everything to be here, scored lots of runs in domestic and India A. Now scoring for India, give some very good performances. He is 25 year young, should invest more in him for the sake of future. He is improving his game, he is showing promise. #TeamIndia
— Manish 🏏 (@IManish311) January 24, 2020
Winning shot ♥️✨🔥 Shreyas iyer finished off in style 🔥
— Saahiil Sharma (@iamsaahiil) January 24, 2020
Another Win for india #NZvsIND #ShreyasIyer pic.twitter.com/qTMYUb5awz
Men in form @ShreyasIyer15 #INDvsNZ #TeamIndia #viratkohli pic.twitter.com/9acpIo7KvV
— Parvej Mohammad Husain 💖 (@am_parvej) January 24, 2020