India beat West Indies by eight wickets in first T20

REUTERS -- Captain Shreyas Iyer hit a century as India beat the West Indies by eight wickets ​in the first Twenty20 of their five-match series ‌in Lucknow on Tuesday.

Iyer led the chase with an unbeaten 102 off 43 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and six ​sixes, as India cruised to victory with 32 ​balls to spare.

Abhishek Sharma provided an early ⁠burst before Roston Chase dismissed him for 21 ​off 10 balls. Sanju Samson departed soon after, leaving ​India at 35 for two.

Iyer and Ishan Kishan then wrested control of the chase, combining in an unbroken 137-run partnership ​off 67 deliveries to seal victory for India.

West ​Indies were put in to bat and slipped to 44 for ‌three ⁠in the powerplay after Arshdeep Singh removed Kamil Pooran for 12, with Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell also falling early.

Opener Shai Hope rebuilt the innings ​with Sherfane Rutherford ​in a ⁠63-run fourth-wicket stand before Naman Dhir dismissed captain Hope for 52 off 37 ​balls.

Dhir and Kuldeep Yadav struck through the ​middle ⁠order as India tightened their grip, before Mayank Yadav dismissed Rutherford for 56. Axar Patel cleaned up ⁠the tail ​as West Indies were bowled ​out for 171 on the first ball of the 20th over.