Abhishek Nayar works with Shreyas Iyer before 102 not out as India beat West Indies in Lucknow

Shreyas Iyer, after working with former India batting coach Abhishek Nayar, struck an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls as India beat the West Indies by eight wickets in the first T20I in Lucknow on Tuesday.

Iyer returned from Japan following the Asian Games with concerns about his timing and power, feeling he was not getting enough force into his shots and that his bat swing was not as clean. Nayar visited Iyer at his home and the two spent close to two hours talking and working on his batting, focusing on grip, first movement and approaches to different bowlers to help Iyer regain freedom in his strokeplay.

The innings produced 10 fours and six sixes, with Iyer bringing up his century in 42 balls en route to finishing 102 not out off 43; it was his first T20I hundred after 67 matches and helped India secure the eight-wicket victory in Lucknow.

Reflecting on the technical issues, Nayar told PTI: "One of the things he was feeling at the end of the Asian Games was something to do with his technique, where he felt he wouldn't generate as much force while hitting and just the thought process of not being able to clear the boundary," and added, "We did a bit of work on his grip and his movements that he speaks about getting flow and momentum into his batting. And then obviously a bit of tactical nuances as to how he can overcome certain bowlers and stuff."

Iyer said the brief interaction with Nayar helped his performance: "I had a brief interaction with Abhishek Nayar in that period where we were talking about cricket. I think that conversation with him helped me a lot in the performance against West Indies," he said in a video shared by the BCCI. He pointed to a specific technical change: "The key that I observed in my batting was setting myself before the delivery of the ball, and that worked perfectly. So, creating that momentum and rhythm was essential at the start of the innings, and it worked out pretty well."

Nayar emphasised that practical work was necessary rather than just discussion: "You can't talk and get this right. You obviously have to demo it. So, we did that when we met, just so that he understands the feeling of doing it because you can't make technical changes without actually practising it," he said. Nayar's association with senior players is established: he has worked closely with Rohit Sharma over the years, was part of the work that helped KL Rahul make changes to his batting, and has associations with Dinesh Karthik and Rinku Singh.

On Iyer's ability and mindset, Nayar said: "It's not that he doesn't have the ability. For a cricketer, the important thing is feeling before the ball is bowled that he can tonk it out of the park, and then, whether or not it happens is a completely different story." He also noted: "A lot of what happened in the Asian Games for him, where he just felt like he couldn't generate the kind of force he wanted while he was trying to hit the ball, and he felt his bat-swing wasn't as clean as it has been in the past," he said.

Iyer will travel to Ranchi for the second T20I, and Nayar urged continuity rather than immediate repetition of the milestone: "He is going to go to Ranchi from Lucknow, which may or may not be a very different pitch. I'm just happy that things turned out the way it did because an international hundred is always special. "You just don't want to follow that up by saying, I want to score another. You want to follow that up by saying, I want to try and focus on the same process and hopefully the results deliver," Nayar added.