NEW DELHI: Shreyas IyerThe extraordinary luck of the toss finally ended on Saturday as Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza he won the toss and elected to field first in the second T20I at the Harare Sports Club, ending the Indian skipper’s record streak of eight consecutive victories in the shortest format.The result marked the first time Iyer had lost a toss as India’s T20I captain, ending a streak that had already seen him top the former skipper. MS Dhonithe long-standing national record.With India leading the three-match series 1-0 after a commanding win in the opener, Iyer admitted he would have preferred to bat first on what he felt was a much better batting surface.
Iyer expects better batting conditions
Unlike the opening match, where the pitch offered uneven bounce and assistance to the bowlers, Iyer believed the surface for the second T20I looked significantly better.
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“We have to bat first. I feel it looks a little different. It’s not as tight as it was in the first game. I feel the bounce will be consistent, and that’s what I’m hoping for. But we’ll see how it plays out,” the India captain said.Rather than dwell on the outcome of the toss, Iyer stressed the importance of maintaining the same mindset that helped India dominate the opening encounter.“We just sent the message to all the guys that it’s important to stay in the present and not be complacent because when you have such a complete win, you tend to take things easy,” he said.“I think it is essential for us to enjoy the moment as to make sure that we play to the best of our abilities. There is a lot of potential in the dressing room and if they turn today with a solid approach, then definitely the results will take care of them,” he added.Iyer also confirmed a change to the playing XI, with Yash Thakur making his India debut in place of Ashok Sharma.
Raza supports Zimbabwean seamstresses
After winning the toss, Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza wasted little time in opting to bowl first, confident that Harare’s wintry conditions would once again provide early assistance to his pace attack.“We want to bowl first. The first reason being the winter wicket as we know, it’s a bit more spicy at the start, so hopefully we can make initial inroads and then see what comes up the batting order later,” explained Raza.While acknowledging that the wicket looked better than during the first T20I, Raza still expects enough movement for his fast bowlers.“The surface is certainly much better today than it was in the first game, so it may not be spicy, but we know that in Harare, especially during the winter, there will be some spice at the start and hopefully our seamers can make inroads. If they do, it will go a long way to help stop them,” he said.Zimbabwe retained the same XI that lost the series opener by seven wickets.
The historic streak is finally over
Before Saturday’s contest, Iyer had rewritten India’s T20I captain’s record by winning eight consecutive runs, surpassing MS Dhoni’s previous mark of seven sets between 2010 and 2012.The streak, which stretched from June to July 2026, had become one of the most remarkable runs by an Indian captain in the format. It is finally over in Harare, although India will be hoping that the result at the toss has little bearing on the outcome of the match.