Shreyas Iyer turned 27 on Monday and celebrated India’s win in a series which he will remember in years to come. Shreyas Iyer twice revived India in the Kanpur 1st Test after a top-order failure, scoring 105 and 65 to script history, despite India drawing the 1st Test by failing to pick up the last Kiwi wicket.
The two-match Test series saw him making a memorable debut in Kanpur which saw him scoring a ton -105 followed by a fifty-65. This was followed by a massive victory at his home city-Mumbai.
Shreyas Iyer: New Zealand Test Series A Memorable One And The 1st Test In Kanpur Will Be Remembered For Long
Speaking at the post-match presentation, he said it was indeed ‘a memorable series.’ He surprisingly added that he is not looking to seal a place in the playing eleven.
“It was a memorable series, a great first match to remember for me (in Kanpur). I’m really proud of the way I did (bat). I’m not really thinking about it (about cementing a permanent place in the team), there are so many players who are in really good form, I hope to be more consistent going ahead.”
Shreyas lyer had a memorable start to his Test career with the bat. He made his debut in the first Test match in Kanpur and scored a ton and a half-century finishing the series as the second-highest run-getter. He finished behind Mayank Agarwal scoring 202 runs at an impressive average of 50.50.
Shreyas lyer’s performance is going to make things difficult for senior cricketers Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara who have not been in the best of form with the bat of late. Shreyas Iyer featured in 22 ODIs and 32 T20Is and averaged 42.78 and 27.61 in the two formats, respectively, before making his Test debut, 4 years after his limited-overs debut in 2017.
Shreyas Iyer: Rahul Dravid Has Given Him A Lot Of Confidence Starting With India A
He also spoke about his chemistry with new India coach Rahul Dravid and how they have ‘gelled well’ since India A playing days.
“He (Rahul Dravid) has given me a lot of confidence, having started off with India A, we have gelled well, he has chipped in with ideas really happy working with me – have had great brainstorming sessions both on and off the field. Looking forward to having a great day (his birthday today).”
India romped home to a massive 372-run win over world champion New Zealand on the fourth morning of the second Test and clinched the two-match series 1-0 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
Chasing a mammoth 540 to win, New Zealand were bowled out for 167 with the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin (4/34) and Jayant Yadav (4/49) running through their batting line-up. The win is India’s biggest ever in Tests in terms of run-margin.
After the win, Rahul Dravid hailed Shreyas Iyer, Mayank Agarwal, Jayant Yadav, and Axar Patel. Rahul Dravid was impressed with the way they grabbed their opportunity. However, Shreyas Iyer scored only 18 and 14 in the 2nd Test and both times fell to Ajaz Patel, who picked all 10 Indian wickets to fall in the 1st innings and 4 in the 2nd innings.
Shreyas Iyer became the 16th Indian batter to score a century on Test debut following the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Prithvi Shaw. Shreyas Iyer was presented his maiden Test cap by Sunil Gavaskar on Day 1 of the Kanpur Test against New Zealand.