'Couldn't get good sleep last night' - Shreyas Iyer woke up at 5 in morning with maiden Test century loading

Day 2 of the 1st Test between India and New Zealand was memorable for Shreyas Iyer as he slammed a sensational century on Test debut. The right-handed batter showcased remarkable resilience against a formidable Kiwi bowling attack and played an innings to remember. Overall, the youngster slammed 105 runs as the home team posted 245 while batting first at the Green Park in Kanpur.

Notably, Iyer had to wait a long time before receiving his maiden Test cap. With big guns like Cheteshwar Pujara, regular skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane in the ranks, Iyer couldn’t earn a place in India’s Test XI despite being phenomenal in the First-Class circuit. However, he got a chance in Kanpur in Kohli’s absence and he didn’t miss out on making a mark.

I was really happy with the way everything went right from day one: Shreyas Iyer

Speaking of his ton after the end of day’s play, the 26-year-old said he couldn’t sleep after ending Day 1 at an unbeaten 75. As the youngster needed 25 runs more runs on get the three-figure mark on the second day, there were butterflies in his stomach.

“I was really happy with the way everything went right from day one. Couldn’t get good sleep last night. Especially when you are batting overnight, I thought I batted really well yesterday but had to still focus again today,” said Iyer after the conclusion on Day 2 play. He also revealed how Sunil Gavaskar motivated him while presenting his maiden Test cap.

“He (Sunil Gavaskar) motivated me a lot while giving me the cap but the one thing he told me that stayed in my mind is, ‘don’t look too far ahead and just enjoy yourself’. I wasn’t able to sleep well at all, got up early at five today morning but when you make a century, it’s a wonderful feeling,” he added.

Meanwhile, Day 2 of the contest was dominated by New Zealand besides Iyer’s ton. Openers Will Young and Tom Latham added 129 runs for the first wicket and returned unbeaten at stump. While Iyer admitted that the Kiwis have made a good start, he believes the track would get difficult to bat in upcoming days.

“They got off to a good start obviously but it’s important for us to not leak runs because the cracks are opening up and it should get trickier tomorrow,” said the 26-year-old.