The 24-year-old batsman hit 15 sixes and 7 boundaries during his record breaking knock.
Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer scored a stunning 55-ball 147 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match against Sikkim to take his team to 258/4 on February 21. The 24-year-old batsman hit 15 sixes and 7 boundaries during his record breaking knock.
Iyer breezed past Rishabh Pant’s record of the highest T20 score by an Indian batsman. Pant had scored 128 from 63 balls when playing for Delhi Daredevils against Sunrisers Hyderabad during last season’s IPL. The 15 sixes hit by Iyer also saw him grab the record for most sixes in a T20 innings previously held by Murali Vijay (11).
Iyer's blitzkrieg took Mumbai to within 5 runs of the current world record for the highest T20 score. That record is jointly held by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Australia who have both registered scores of 263 in T20 encounters.
Mumbai were in a spot of bother before Iyer began firing as they lost both openers within the first 3 overs. Ajinkya Rahane (11) was the first to depart with Prithvi Shaw (10) following soon after. With Mumbai struggling at 22/2, Iyer stitched together a 213 run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav who contributed with 63 off 33 balls. Both batsmen were dismissed in the 17th over with Mumbai comfortably placed at 238/4 and looking set to smash the record for highest T20 score (263). However, Aditya Tare and Siddhesh Lad could only add 20 runs from the next 18 balls as they finished 5 runs short of the record.
Apart from Milind Kumar, each of Sikkim’s seven bowlers were hit all around the park during Iyer’s dominant innings. Kumar gave away just 30 runs from his 4 overs while also scalping both Iyer and Suryakumar in a single over. In reply, Sikkim could manage just 104/7 in 20 overs as Mumbai won by a 154-run margin.
Iyer’s innings will bode well for his IPL franchise Delhi Capitals as they seek a reversal of fortunes after finishing last on the table during last year’s tournament.
On the same day in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Cheteshwar Pujara scored his maiden T20 century 12 years after he made his debut in the shortest format. Pujara’s 61-ball 100 however couldn’t help Saurashtra register a victory against Railways as they chased down the 188-run target with 5 wickets to spare. Pujara who carried his bat all through the innings also became the first batsman from Saurashtra to score a T20 century.
