India national cricket team captain Shreyas Iyer created history by winning the toss in the first match of the three-match T20 series against the Zimbabwe national cricket team at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Thursday (July 23).
Iyer might have been looking for a first win as India’s T20I captain, but his incredible luck at the toss continued as he won another toss and decided to bowl first against Zimbabwe in Harare. Meanwhile, Mohammad Kaif urged Shreyas Iyer to show trust in Ravi Bishnoi.
Shreyas Iyer broke MS Dhoni’s record, won the toss in Harare and recorded his name in history.
It turned into a dream moment for Shreyas Iyer after winning the toss in the first T20I against Zimbabwe as he left behind some of India’s greatest captains including MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. Along with the historic achievement, India also gave a chance to young fast bowler Ashok Sharma to make his T20 debut.
By winning the toss in Harare, Shreyas became the first captain in men’s T20I history to win the toss in each of his first eight matches as captain. No captain has been able to achieve this feat since the T20 format started.
Shreyas became only the second captain in international cricket to win the toss in each of his first eight matches as captain. Before him, only former England captain Wally Hammond had managed to achieve this rare feat at the highest level.
Iyer’s luck at the time of the toss has taken him to the top among Indian T20I captains. He has now won eight consecutive tosses, breaking the previous record of MS Dhoni, who had won seven consecutive tosses. Dhoni was followed by Virat Kohli, who won six consecutive tosses.
Most consecutive toss wins by an Indian captain in T20Is
8 – Shreyas Iyer (2026)*
7 – MS Dhoni (2010/12)
6 – Virat Kohli (2019)
5 – MS Dhoni (2007)
5 – Rohit Sharma (2020/22)
Shreyas Iyer joins elite list as India create unique debut record in Zimbabwe
Interestingly, among captains from Full Member nations, only former West Indies captain Darren Sammy (10) and Pakistan captain Salman Aga (9) have won more tosses than the current Indian T20I captain. Meanwhile Abhishek Sharma refused? India’s star opener got injured in the first T20 match against Zimbabwe.
India, on the other hand, have now handed T20I debuts to more players in Zimbabwe than any other overseas nation. So far, a total of 31 Indian players have made their T20I debut in Zimbabwe, followed by Zimbabwe (23), South Africa (21), West Indies (11), and Sri Lanka (10).
I don’t know how it will play: Iyer on Harare surface
As it was their first match at the Harare ground, Iyer was not entirely sure how the wicket would behave, but felt there could be good bounce, so India went in with three fast bowlers in the first game.
At the time of the toss, Iyer said, “We are going to bowl first. It’s my first time here, so I don’t know how the wicket will be. But looking at the practice wickets and the wickets on the side, there was a good amount of bounce. So definitely, that’s one aspect. I don’t know how it’s going to play out, but we are expecting some bounce. We are going with three seamers and a spinner.”