Skipper Shreyas Iyer produced an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls, while Naman Dhir made an impressive impact on debut as India defeated West Indies by eight wickets in the first T20I at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday.

Chasing 172, India completed the victory in 14.4 overs, with Iyer scoring his maiden T20I century and his highest score in the format. He reached his century off 42 balls and remained unbeaten on 102 from 43 deliveries.

Iyer’s century was also the fastest by an Indian against West Indies in T20Is, bettering KL Rahul’s 46-ball hundred in Lauderhill in 2016. The India captain became only the third Indian captain to score a century in men’s T20Is, joining Rohit Sharma, who has three, and Suryakumar Yadav, who has one.

The 102 not out also surpassed Iyer’s previous best T20I score of 80 not out against England in Bristol earlier in 2026. Iyer brought up his 11th T20I fifty in 28 balls, and it was his second half-century since taking over the captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav. He took control of the chase following the early loss of both Indian openers.

India raced to 62/2 after six overs, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 21 and Sanju Samson making 11 before departing. Iyer continued to attack and found boundaries regularly.

Ishan Kishan provided support, scoring 37 off 27 balls as the pair stitched together a 137-run partnership. Kishan also completed 3,000 runs in international cricket during the chase.

India were 102/2 at the halfway stage, needing 70 from 60 balls. Iyer accelerated the scoring, reaching his hundred from 42 balls and remaining unbeaten on 102 from 43, while Kishan was dismissed after making 37.

West Indies had a chance to break the partnership when Iyer clipped a Shamar Springer delivery towards square leg and Matthew Forde came in from deep cover. Forde dived forward and appeared to take a low catch, but the on-field decision remained not out before the TV umpire reviewed the effort.

Replays showed the ball touching the ground between Forde’s fingers, confirming that the catch had not been completed.

Earlier, Dhir, making his T20I debut, claimed 3/31 from four overs as India bowled out West Indies for 171.

The visitors were given a brisk start by skipper Shai Hope, who took 16 runs off Mayank Yadav in the second over. India responded during the powerplay through Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel. Kamil Pooran was the first wicket to fall for 12 before Shimron Hetmyer was run out for five and Rovman Powell was dismissed for a duck. The three wickets left West Indies at 44/3 after six overs.

Hope then steadied the innings alongside Sherfane Rutherford, with the pair adding 63 runs to take West Indies to 82/3 at the drinks break. Rutherford was unbeaten on 18, while Hope continued to anchor the innings.

Powell’s dismissal extended his struggles against Axar. In T20 matches against the India all-rounder, Powell has now been dismissed twice, scoring 17 runs off 13 balls. Hetmyer’s run-out also took him to seven run-outs in T20Is, according to the match statistics.

Hope continued to anchor the innings and brought up his 13th T20I fifty from 36 balls. However, the West Indies captain fell soon after reaching the milestone, caught by Axar off Dhir for 52, ending a 63-run partnership with Rutherford.

Kuldeep Yadav then struck in successive overs, dismissing Roston Chase for 5 before Matthew Forde fell for 2. Ishan Kishan took a catch at deep midwicket to complete Forde’s dismissal.

Romario Shepherd briefly threatened with a six but was dismissed for 7 after slicing Dhir’s delivery to Tilak Varma at long-off. Dhir then completed his third wicket when Shamar Springer was caught by Axar after hitting the debutant for a maximum.

Rutherford remained the main source of resistance and scored 56 off 34 balls for his seventh T20I fifty. His innings helped West Indies reach 171 after losing several wickets during the middle overs.

Mayank eventually dismissed Rutherford to claim his first wicket of the match, before Axar completed his second wicket as West Indies were bowled out for 171.

Dhir finished with figures of 3/31 from four overs, while Axar returned 2/26 from 3.1 overs and Kuldeep took 2/33 from four overs. Arshdeep Singh and Mayank Yadav also claimed a wicket each.

The victory gave India a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series, with Iyer’s century and Dhir’s three-wicket haul among the key contributions in the match.

Brief scores:

West Indies 171 all out in 19.1 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 56, Shai Hope 52; Naman Dhir 3-31, Axar Patel 2-26) lost to India 172/2 in 14.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 102*, Ishan Kishan 37; Roston Chase 1-37) by eight wickets