The 24-year-old walloped Sikkim to score 147 runs in just 55 balls in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
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Mumbai's swashbuckling batsman Shreyas Iyer took no prisoners when his side faced Sikkim in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Thursday, scoring 147 runs off just 55 balls, claiming the record for the highest score by an Indian player in T20 cricket.
Photo credit: Shreyas Iyer/InstagramIn their opening game Group C of the tournament at Indore, Mumbai made a shaky start with the score at 22/2 at the end of three overs. However, Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav resurrected the innings, building a record third wicket partnership of 213 in just 82 balls runs that helped the batting side post a mammoth 258/4, just 5 short of the all-time highest total in the format.
Highest T20 scores by Indians
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 21, 2019
147 - Shreyas Iyer for Mumbai today
128* - Rishabh Pant for Delhi Daredevils 2018
127 - M Vijay for Chennai Super Kings 2010
126* - Suresh Raina for Uttar Pradesh 2018
125 - Unmukt Chand for Delhi 2013#SyedMushtaqAliTrophy
Iyer, who was the leading run-scorer in the inaugural T20 Mumbai league, did the bulk of the scoring for Mumbai, obliterating several records along the way. He overtook Rishabh Pant's score of 128 not out to claim the record for the highest score by an Indian in T20 cricket. Iyer clobbered a whopping 15 sixes and 7 boundaries in his innings of 147, clinching the record for the most number of sixes by an Indian in a single match as well, beating the previous benchmark of 11.
He reached his century in just 38 balls and pummelled 118 of his 147 runs in boundaries, including a 35-run over off pacer Tashi Bhalla, that included five sixes.
"I take every inning very seriously. It doesn’t matter which team I am playing," Iyer said. "We just wanted a good start to the tournament and I think overall as a team, we had a great start. Considering my performance, I was happy with the way I was hitting the ball and I just want to carry the same momentum for the next week."
As Shreyas Iyer charges down to wicket to send Bipul Sharma packing over the sightscreen for his 15th six, a Mumbai player shouts from the bench "weda zaalay ka rey? (Have you lost it?)" #MushtaqAliT20 @sportstarweb @THMumbai
— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) February 21, 2019
Shreyas Iyer returns to the change room after shattering heaps of records: his 147 vs Sikkim is the highest individual score bland his 15 sixes are the most by an Indian in T20 #cricket #MushtaqAliT20 @sportstarweb @THMumbai pic.twitter.com/gxKckDzkiP
— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) February 21, 2019
The 24-year-old was well supported by Triumph Knights Mumbai North East pick Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed 63 runs in 33 deliveries, which included eight sixes and two fours.
In response, Sikkim's players never got going, as they finished with 104/7 after their allocated 20 overs. Shardul Thakur and Shams Mulani were the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai, picking two wickets each, with the latter recording miserly figures of 2/2 in three overs.
