Xtra Time Web Desk: Shreyas Iyer on Friday became the 16th Indian batter to score a century on Test debut. Iyer, who was presented his maiden Test cap by Sunil Gavaskar on Day 1 of the Kanpur Test against New Zealand, started off his Test career in style, finishing the day on 75 not out. And early morning on Day 2, the 26-year-old batter knocked off 25 runs to join an elite list of Indian batters.
Among those to score a century on Test debut for India are Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Prithvi Shaw among many more. Before Iyer, Shaw was the last India batter to register a three-digit score in 2018, scoring 134 against West Indies.
Iyer began the day with a sumptuous flick off his pads for a four off Kyle Jamieson. Although Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed for his overnight score of 50, Iyer carried on, hitting a delightful cover drive to enter the 90s and struck another four off the next ball to move to 96. A couple of singles took him to 98 before Iyer tapped the ball on the off side to complete a double and take off his helmet.