Shreyas Iyer added a unique milestone to his captaincy career in the opening T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday. The India skipper won the toss and elected to bat first, his eighth consecutive toss win as captain in T20 Internationals and surpassing former skipper MS Dhoni In the record books.Iyer now holds the record for most consecutive bowlers by an Indian captain in T20Is. His eight consecutive wins from June to July 2026 surpassed Dhoni’s best of seven between 2010 and 2012. Virat Kohli won the toss with six in a row, while Rohit Sharma and Dhoni also won five in a row.
Most consecutive toss by an Indian captain in T20Is:
- 8 – Shreyas Iyer (June 2026 – July 2026)
- 7 – MS Dhoni (May 2010 – February 2012)
- 6 – Virat Kohli (August 2019 – December 2019)
- 5 – Rohit Sharma (February 2020 – February 2022)
- 5 – MS Dhoni (September 2007)
After winning the toss, Iyer explained the decision to bowl first and said the surface seemed to have good pace and bounce.“We’re going to bowl first. This is my first time here, so I don’t know how the wicket will play out. But look at the practice wicket and the practice wicket on the side, there’s quite a bit of bounce,” Iyer said.He also praised Zimbabwe’s recent progress, adding: “They’ve been great over the last few years…the batsmen and the bowlers have played to their strengths. It’s been fantastic.”Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza admitted the Harare pitch looked different to normal and despite some early help for the seamers, a lot of runs were expected.“It’s not a typical Harare Sports Club wicket. I think there’s a lot of movement on this wicket,” Raza said.India fielded a young XI that included Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh, along with experienced captain Iyer. Zimbabwe handed Newman Nyamhuri and Ben Curran their T20I debuts, while Milton Shumba missed the series with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Innocent Kaia.
ZIM vs IND lineup:
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani(w), Ben Curran, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Ryan Burl, Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava, Blessing MuzarabaniIndia: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi,Abhishek Sharma,Ishan Kishan(w),Shreyas Iyer(c),Tilak Varma,Rinku Singh,Shivam Dube,Ravi Bishnoi,Prince Yadav,Ashok Sharma,Mayank Yadav
