Shreyas Iyer was batting almost at a run a ball till he was 12 but things changed rapidly from the moment he walked across his stumps to flick a Dasun Shanaka delivery through the vacant deep square-leg area and collect a boundary in the 17th over of the Indian innings in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Lucknow. In the next over, Iyer hit couple of boundaries and made his intentions clear. However, it was the 19th over that really showed how destructive Iyer can be with the bat in his hand. The right-hander took apart Chamika Karunaratne, hitting him for three boundaries, including a 90 metre six over long on.
It was a slower delivery from the medium pacer and Iyer picked the length early, got into perfect position and timed the ball to perfection. So good was the connection that the newly-appointed Kolkata Knight Riders captain, did not even bother to look towards destination of the ball. Videos and photos of Iyer's huge six started doing the rounds on social media. Twitter users even termed the shot a “no look six”.
Watch: Shreya Iyer's “No Look 90 Metre” Six In 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka
Iyer hit another six in the last over and brought up his fifty off just 25 balls. The right-hander finished with 57 off 28 balls as India raced to 199 for 2 after being asked to bat first by the visitors.
Before Iyer, it was Ishan Kishan who got India off to a flying start along with captain Rohit Sharma. The duo put on a 111-run stand opening stand before Rohit was dismissed for 44. Kishan, however, continued on his merry way and finished with a blistering 89 off 56 balls.
Sri Lankan batters were no match for India's bowlers. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Venkatesh Iyer struck in regular intervals as Sri Lanka could only manage 137 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs. India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The two sides will meet again in the second T20I in Dharamsala on Saturday.