Shreyas Iyer He finally ended his wait for victory as India’s T20I captain when he led India to a convincing seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first match of the three-match series in Harare on Thursday. The result marked Shreyas’ first win since taking over the captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav earlier this year. India have had a tough time under his leadership, starting with a shocking 2-0 series loss to Ireland and then a humiliating 0-4 defeat to England in the five-match T20I series. Former India opener Sadagopan Ramesh said the celebrations after Zimbabwe’s win were understandable considering the team’s recent woes, insisting the victory would come as a relief to the skipper. Ramesh said in a video uploaded on Instagram: “Many people say that India should not be so excited just because of the win against Zimbabwe. However, when you hunger for victory for so long in T20Is, even the leftovers will loosen up like a wedding banquet. Considering India lost under his captaincy, Shreyas Iyer will loosen up like a wedding banquet. Considering India lost under his captaincy, Shreyas Iyer will loosen up enough to breathe a sigh of relief. Ramesh also praised Laxman, who served as India’s interim head coach during Zimbabwe’s tour. He praised the former India batsman for always delivering positive results every time he took charge of the national team. “VVS Laxman also deserves high praise. India has performed well every time he has been the head coach. Under his leadership, India always seemed to whitewash their opponents, even as other teams kept whitewashing India. India have reached a point where they just need one win of any kind, so they are elated after beating Zimbabwe,” he added. Teenage star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s historic knock further highlighted India’s victory. The 15-year-old marked his maiden half-century in international cricket with just 18 balls, becoming the youngest player to score a fifty in men’s international cricket. Sooryavanshi reached the milestone at 15 years and 118 days, breaking the previous record held by Sachin Tendulkar. The great batsman was just 16 years and 213 days old when he made his maiden international fifty in 1989 in a Test match against Pakistan in Faisalabad.
