Cheteshwar Pujara hails Shreyas Iyer after 1st IND vs WI 2026 T20I

Former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has showered praise on Shreyas Iyer after India registered an eight-wicket win against the West Indies in the opening T20I at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Tuesday. Iyer scored a blistering knock of 102 runs off just 43 balls as he batted at the top of his game in the run-chase of 172.

The right-hander was able to hit the ground running and Pujara praised the Indian captain for counter-attacking as soon as walked out in the middle. 

Iyer completed his fifty off just 28 balls and then changed gears as he raced from 50 to 100 off just 14 balls. This is Iyer’s maiden T20I century, which would give him a lot of confidence. The Indian skipper was awarded Player of the Match for his superb batting performance.

Cheteshwar Pujara said on Cricinfo, “It was exceptional the way he batted. When he walked into bat, India had lost a couple of wickets. The moment he walked in, he counter-attacked. He played normal cricketing shots. If you look at the way he batted, especially in the power play, he was looking to time the ball. It was smart cricket. He realized where he wanted to play shots. There was a lot of clarity in his batting.

“Once he was set, after the powerplay, he was taking on some of the bowlers. He knew which bowlers he wanted to target. I think it was a phenomenal innings,” Pujara went on to add.

India’s former number three Test batter added this hundred will give a lot of confidence to Iyer going forward in the series.

“I know that there wasn’t any question around his batting. But once you get to that hundred mark as a batter, you feel that confidence. I’m sure Shreyas Iyer will be a lot more confident now going forward into the series.”

The second T20I between India and the West Indies will be played at Ranchi on Friday.