The captain made an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls as India won in Lucknow by eight wickets.
India captain Shreyas Iyer struck his first century in T20 internationals to lead his side to victory over the West Indies in the series opener in Lucknow. Iyer made an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls as India chased a target of 172 to win by eight wickets with 5.2 overs to spare.
The hosts had been under pressure after losing Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson cheaply to reach 35 for two. Iyer took charge in the final over of the PowerPlay, hitting Shamar Joseph for three consecutive boundaries. He reached his half-century from 28 balls, then scored his next 52 runs in just 15 deliveries. In the ninth over he struck Romario Shepherd for three successive boundaries; in the 14th he took 23 runs from Matthew Forde, including three sixes. Iyer brought up his century with a boundary off Roston Chase.
Earlier, India’s spinners took seven wickets through the middle overs to dismiss West Indies for 171. Debutant Naman Dhir claimed three for 31, Axar Patel took two for 26 and Kuldeep Yadav two for 33. Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford scored half-centuries and added 63 for the fourth wicket, but West Indies then slumped from 107 for three to 135 for eight.