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:
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