Story Content

Shreyas Iyer became the seventh Indian player to win the Player of the Match award on debut in red-ball cricket on Monday, adding another feather to his Test crown. As India and New Zealand played out an exciting draw in Kanpur, Iyer scored 105 and 65 runs to become the first Indian to score a century and fifty on Test debut.

Iyer also became the 16th Indian to make a century in his debut Test, and the country's sixth since 2000, to do so.

He became the seventh Indian to win the man of the match award on Test debut, joining Prithvi Shaw (vs West Indies in 2018), Rohit Sharma (vs West Indies in 2013), Shikhar Dhawan (vs Australia in 2013), Ravichandran Ashwin (vs West Indies in 2011), RP Singh (vs Pakistan in 2006), and Pravin Amre (vs South Africa in 1992).

Iyer was overjoyed with his individual performance but frustrated that despite his heroics with the bat, he didn't finish up on the winning side.

"It's a fantastic feeling, but winning the game would have been the cherry on top." My strategy was to play as many balls as possible during the sessions.

"People say I'm a showy player, but the circumstances forced me to play longer." So I played for the sake of passing the time. I'm very proud of how we came out of a terrible situation. I am quite pleased with the team's overall work."

Coach Rahul Dravid heaped accolades on the 27-year-old for seizing the opportunity to play Test cricket for India with both hands.

"A young youngster doing well in the first Test for India is a good reflection not only of that person (player) but also of the system." The fact that we have been able to develop not only India A but also him playing club cricket for Mumbai," Dravid stated as he considered the bigger picture.

"Shreyas had to put in a lot of effort and earn it. He didn't have it easy. Of course, he has a first-class average of above 50, but he hadn't played first-class cricket in three years.

"He wouldn't have made the level if we hadn't had injuries, and he's seized the opportunity and demonstrated his talents," the new head coach stated after the game.