'Good modern player' - Twitter erupts in joy as Shreyas Iyer hits ton on Test debut in Kanpur

Young Indian batter Shreyas Iyer, on Friday, November 26, notched his maiden century in Test cricket. The right-handed batter accomplished the feat in India’s opening Test against Kane Williamson’s New Zealand at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur. On Wednesday, Ajinkya Rahane, who’s India’s skipper for the first Test, confirmed that Iyer would be taking the field in the game.

He came to bat at No.5 after the home team elected to bat first after winning the toss. India had lost two set batters, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill in pretty quick succession. After the hosts lost skipper Rahane, Iyer, along with Ravindra Jadeja put on 121 runs for the fifth wicket. In the second session on Day one, Iyer racked up his maiden Test fifty off 94 balls and looked at home.

Shreyas Iyer shows his class

On the back of his knock, India ended the day on 258 for four in their 84 overs. On the second day, Iyer carried on from where he left. He didn’t look fussed by any stretch of the imagination. In the first session, India found themselves in a bit of trouble. Tim Southee, who led the Black Caps in the T20I series came to the party and delivered back-to-back blows with the ball in hand.

To start with, he removed Jadeja, who scored 50 runs off 112 balls with the help of six fours. Thereafter, Southee accounted for Wriddhiman Saha’s wicket in the 93rd over of the Indian innings. However, the loss of wickets at the other end didn’t ruffle Iyer by any means. Iyer stepped on the gas a wee bit and raced away to his century off a mere 157 balls, playing at around four runs per over.

In the first ball of the 92nd over, Iyer dabbed the ball behind the point region off Kyle Jamieson to reach the milestone. He took off his helmet and kissed the Indian badge. He also became the 16th Indian cricketer to score a ton on debut in international cricket. Moreover, Iyer became the third Indian to get a century against the Kiwis on debut.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to Iyer’s ton