Shreyas Iyer created history and equaled an 87-year-old world record while going past MS Dhoni in an elite during the 1st T20I between India and Zimbabwe at the iconic Harare Sports Club in Harare on Thursday (July 23). The Indian T20I skipper set a series of records after India won the toss and chose to bowl first in the series opener.
Shreyas has now won the toss in each of the eight T20Is he has taken charge of the national team. For those unversed, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper replaced 2026 T20 World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav in the top job in June. The tour of the United Kingdom (UK) was his first assignment and he won the toss in all seven games (2 vs Ireland, 5 vs England)
Shreyas Iyer Breaks MS Dhoni’s Record
Shreyas’s streak of winning eight tosses in a row is the most by any Indian captain in T20Is before. The record was previously held by MS Dhoni, who led India to the inaugural T20 World Cup title in 2007 and is widely regarded as India’s greatest white-ball captain ever.
Most Consecutive Tosses Won By An Indian Captain In T20Is
| player | Tosses Won | Year |
| Shreyas Iyer | 8 | 2026 |
| MS Dhoni | 7 | 2010-2012 |
| Virat Kohli | 6 | 2019 |
| MS Dhoni | 5 | 2007 |
| Rohit Sharma | 5 | 2020-2022 |
Shreyas Iyer Sets World Record
Shreyas has become the first captain in Men’s T20I cricket history to win the toss in his first eight matches in a row. The previous record was held by Bahamas cricketer Gregory Taylor, who called right in his first seven games in charge in the shortest format.
Infact, Shreyas is the first captain in 87 years to win the toss in his first eight international matches across formats. The only other player to achieve the feat is former England skipper Willy Hammond, who also won the toss in his first eight matches (all Test matches) between 1938 and 1939.
Shreyas’ tally of seven games is also the longest streak of consecutive toss wins without winning a match by a captain from a Test-playing nation. If associate nations are counted, he equaled Bulgaria’s Prakash Mishra’s record, who also had a run of seven consecutive winless matches despite winning the toss in every game.
India’s seven-wicket victory is Shreyas’ first win as captain of India in the eighth attempt. This is the longest any Indian captain has taken to secure his first win while leading the team. Previously, no captain had led the team in more than three matches (Dhoni) before securing a win.
Across all formats, Shreyas’s wait of eight matches before registering his first win as Indian captain is the fourth longest across all Indian captains and the biggest in the last 64 years. Only Lala Amarnath (11), Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (10), and Nari Contractor (9).
This streak of seven games without a win, which ended today, also marked India’s longest winless run in T20Is. Previously, India had never gone more than four games without a victory. They had two streaks of four defeats in a row (2009, 2021).
