- Tuesday, April 23, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA batter Shreyas Iyer slammed his maiden Test century in his debut match in Green Park in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, against New Zealand on Friday (26).
The 26-year-old right-handed batter, who made his Test debut four years after starting his international career, scored 75 not out on Day 1 of the game on Thursday (25) after India captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bat. He was eventually dismissed for 105 in 171 deliveries.
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Iyer rose to the occasion after the hosts, who are playing without some key players in the game, lost four of their top-order wickets for less than 150 runs to add 122 runs for the fifth wicket with spinner-allrounder Ravindra Jadeja (50). He went on to complete his ton early on the second day and helped India pose a competitive first-innings total of 345. He started the day confidently by smashing Kiwi pacer Kyle Jamieson for two boundaries in his first over.
Opener Shubman Gill also scored a fifty (52) in his comeback game while Ravichandran Ashwin made 38.
Iyer, who got his maiden Test cap from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, became the 16th Indian batter to score a century in his maiden Test. He is the 303th player to play for India in a Test match.
“A debut to remember for @ShreyasIyer15 as he brings up his maiden Test century,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India tweeted.
💯
A debut to remember for @ShreyasIyer15 as he brings up his maiden Test century 👏👏
Live – https://t.co/9kh8Df6cv9 #INDvNZ @Paytm pic.twitter.com/GqItxthhXB
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 26, 2021
For the visitors, spearhead Tim Southee was the pick of the bowlers with five wickets for 69 runs. Jamieson claimed three wickets while India-born spinner Ajaz Patel got two wickets.
New Zealand were off to a cautious start with their openers Tom Latham and Will Young putting up 33 runs in the first 14 overs.
