Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer (Photo ANI) India captain Shreyas Iyer etched his name in the record books during the torrential rain in the first T20I against England in Durham, becoming the first Indian captain to register for a T20I on English soil in half a century.Iyer’s 68 off 48 balls was not only his first T20I fifty as India captain, but also the highest score by an Indian captain in a men’s T20I in England. In doing so, he surpassed Virat Kohli, whose unbeaten 47 against England in Cardiff in 2018 was the previous highest score by an Indian captain in the country.Leading a team looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 series loss to Ireland, Iyer produced the captain’s knock when India came under early pressure. The visitors were reduced to 6/2 after losing Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in the first two overs.While Abhishek Sharma counter-attacked, scoring 59 off just 27 balls, Iyer took a more measured approach. The pair added 82 runs for the third wicket, restoring the innings before launching the attack. Iyer scored a fifty in 38 deliveries, showing patience early on before accelerating with crisp boundaries and a high six behind extra cover.His innings eventually ended on 68 after he was trapped lbw by Saqib Mahmood, but by then India had laid a strong platform. A late unbeaten 42 from Shivam Dube took the visitors’ score to 189/7.Unfortunately, persistent rain meant that England never got the chance to begin the chase and the match was abandoned during the break in the innings. Despite this, Iyer’s historic knock was a big positive for India ahead of the second T20I in Manchester as the captain returned to form and added another milestone to his growing list of achievements.
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