On the fourth day of the first Test between India and New Zealand, Shreyas Iyer showed his brilliance by pulling the hosts out of a deep hole with a superb performance of 65 runs in the second innings. Iyer’s contribution helped India to a commanding lead over the visitors. After dismissing New Zealand for 296 in the first innings, India’s top order fell on the fourth day. As a result of the damage inflicted by Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson, Ajinkya Rahane’s side was struggling at 51/5 when Shreyas Iyer put together a crucial 52-run partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin to push India’s overall advantage above the 150-run barrier.
Following Ashwin’s departure, Shreyas continued to play wisely with wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha in the middle. Once they were comfortable, both batsmen took calculated chances against the spinners in order to score key boundaries. After reaching his half-century, Shreyas established himself as the first Indian batter in the history of Test cricket to register a century and a fifty in his Test debut. In the first innings, he became the 16th Indian to score a century on debut, becoming the most recent to do so.
Eventually, Shreyas was removed for 67 after an edge to the wicketkeeper off Southee, attempting to draw a short ball off him. His 64-run partnership with Saha sent India above the 200-run mark in the overall standings.
Shreyas smashed eight wonderful boundaries and a six in the second innings, displaying remarkable maturity at a time when veteran batsmen like Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara were unable to generate results for the team.
The innings of Shreyas has made it tough for the team management to select who to remove and who to keep for the second Test match, which will be played when regular skipper Virat Kohli returns to the field.
What Shreyas Iyer Said After Achieving This Feat?
It was during a game in Kanpur in which the 26-year-old Iyer performed superbly to save his side from an extremely hazardous situation that he travelled down memory lane. In a video posted on the BCCI’s official website, Iyer expresses his thoughts on the matter while discussing it with Suryakumar Yadav.
“It was always my desire to play Test cricket, but circumstances conspired against me, and I ended up playing T20Is, One-Day Internationals, and now Test cricket. However, it’s never too late, and I’m overjoyed to have scored a century in my Test debut. There was nothing greater than this,” Iyer expressed his gratitude.
“Kanpur stadium has proven to be quite fortunate for me. It was under Suryakumar’s captaincy that I made my maiden appearance in the Ranji season, and he has expressed gratitude to him for supporting him after his first four innings when he feared he would be out of the squad.”
“Then, when we returned to Kanpur, we found ourselves in the same scenario. The team was in a tough position when we went 20 or 30 for five, and then I formed a 150-run partnership with the tail-enders to put us in a strong position.”
