‘I’m already sleepy’: Shreyas Iyer’s candid response after match-winning maiden T20I century

Captain Shreyas Iyer (Image: IANS) Three days after his gold medal celebration at the Asian Games in Japan, Shreyas Iyer was back in action thousands of kilometers away in India and somehow the skipper found enough energy to produce the innings of his T20I career.Iyer and several members of the Indian Asian Games team traveled back after defeating Pakistan in the gold medal match on 3 October. Just three days later, they were at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow to take on the West Indies in the opening T20I of the five-match series.After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, India restricted the West Indies to 171 before Iyer took center stage. The skipper smashed an unbeaten 102 off just 43 balls, bringing up his maiden T20I century in 42 deliveries as India chased down the target in 14.4 overs to take a 1-0 lead.

Iyer delivers despite a hectic turnaround

Asked if the grueling travel had affected him, Iyer admitted he barely realized it.“No, I didn’t realize it after the grueling travel. He adapted quickly and bowling first helped. I was actually thinking about getting my first T20I century and it worked out. Victory tastes different. Today I was the one who finished the game,” Shreyas Iyer said in the post-match presentation.

‘I’m already sleepy’

He also reserved praise for debutant Naman Dhir, who took three wickets, before ending his post-match thoughts with perhaps the most reliable line of the night: “I’m sleepy now.”

Dhir shines as India gets off to a winning start

Earlier debutant Naman Dhir returned impressive figures of 3/31 as India bowled out West Indies for 171. Shai Hope scored 52 while Sherfane Rutherford smashed 56 off 31 balls.India lost Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson early in the chase but Iyer took control along with Ishan Kishan who scored 37. The pair added 137 runs to give India a firm command as they lead the series 1-0.