India captain Shreyas Iyer applauded his bowlers for making the most of the conditions on Thursday, and he said the comfortable victory over Zimbabwe in the opening T20I would give his side the confidence it needs for the rest of the series. Electing to bowl, India restricted Zimbabwe to 125/7 before finishing a comfortable chase with 40 balls and seven wickets in hand as well.

“I think the boys were tremendous. Couldn’t have been happier with my first win,” Iyer said after the match. “There was bounce from good length and it was also variable. I felt it was there in both innings. The start Mayank gave was great.” Shreyas came here after losing series against Ireland and England.

The captain also said that the convincing start would serve India well, with two more matches to be played at the same venue as well.

“We are going to play two more matches here, so today’s performance gives everyone some confidence,” he said.

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However, Shreyas Iyer also backed young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying that the teenager’s familiarity with the conditions would be an advantage as well. Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi became the youngest player in the world to score a fifty in men’s international cricket in just 18 balls as well.

“I think Vaibhav has played here – he got 175 in the U-19 World Cup final – so he knows the conditions,” he stated.

Player of the Match Mayank Yadav (2/18) also said that he relished bowling on a surface that offered pace bowlers assistance as well.

“It always feels great when you contribute in a win. So it was a very special moment for me,” he said. “The wicket was very good. After playing in India, I was enjoying bowling here. It’s my first time here in Zimbabwe. The bounce I got and the seam movement was great help for me. We got a good start from the very first ball and the way Prince and Ashok were squeezing from their end was really good.”

Meanwhile, Prince Yadav (2/19), who also impressed with the ball, said that the bowlers stuck to their plans despite the challenging conditions.

“I am very happy with my performance but more importantly we won the match. There was help from the surface when we bowled good lines and lengths,” he said. “We spoke about bowling good deliveries and if someone plays a good shot then, it’s fine.”