India’s middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer created history on Sunday as he became the only Indian cricketer to score a century and half-century on Test debut. Iyer started his Test career with a blockbuster note by registering a magnificent century in the first inning of his first Test match.
He carried his sensational form in the second innings as well and scored a fighting fifty to put the Indian cricket team on top in the ongoing 1st Test match against New Zealand at the Green Park Stadium, Kanpur.
Standing up when the team needed him the most! ??
Half-century for Shreyas Iyer. ????#PlayBold #TeamIndia #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/qtLhOHuLk4
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) November 28, 2021
Shreyas Iyer got a chance in the playing XI in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli. The pressure on his young shoulders was at an all-time high to take India to a safe shore as senior batters like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are going through a rough patch.
In the first innings, Iyer walked out to bat when India was in a tricky situation after the dismissal of Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara. He went on to score 105 runs off 171 balls with the help of 13 fours and two sixes and helped team India put up a competitive score of 345 on the board in the first innings.
First Indian to score a 100 & 50 as a test debutant!
Shre yes – 6⃣5⃣(125) ?#INDvsNZ #WhistlePodu ?
?: @BCCI pic.twitter.com/4blNOUu5kG— rashid iqbal (@Rashid22Iqbal) November 28, 2021
Later, on Sunday, Iyer showed immense fighting skills and determination as he fought like a lone warrior after the Kiwis triggered a mini-collapse of the Indian batting order, which was reduced to 5/51. Iyer led the fightback for India with some crucial partnerships alongside Wriddhiman Saha and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Iyer joined hands with the experienced cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin and together they shared a crucial 52-run partnership with Ashwin to revive India’s innings after the early collapse. After Ashwin’s departure, Shreyas formed a partnership with Saha to put India on top with a 64-run stand. Iyer was dismissed on 65 runs at the stroke of Tea as Tim Southee got his third wicket of the innings.
Meanwhile, Shreyas also became the third Indian after Sunil Gavaskar and Dilawar Hussain smash two fifty-plus scores on Test debut.
Here, check out the list of cricketers who smashed 2 fifty-plus scores on Test debut:
Shreyas Iyer – 105 and 50* vs New Zealand in Kanpur – 2021
Sunil Gavaskar – 65 and 67* vs West Indies in Port of Spain – 1971
Dilawar Hussain – 59 and 57 vs England in Kolkata – 1933/34
Earlier in the first innings, Iyer joined an elite list of cricketers — ala Amarnath, Deepak Shodhan, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma among others.. who have scored a century on a Test debut.
