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Shreyas Iyer's dream debut got far superior on Day 4 of the first Test match between India and New Zealand. Iyer scored 50 years in the second innings to build on his incredible century earlier in the match.
As a result of his thump, Iyer achieved the unique distinction of becoming the first Indian player at any point to score a century and 50 years on their debut. He became only the third Indian after Dilawar Hussain and Sunil Gavaskar to score 50+ thumps in both innings of the game.
More than the runs, what has stood out about Iyer is the grit he has displayed in both innings. In the first innings, he had taken India out of a tricky situation at 145-4 to put up a total of 345 on the board. His effort in the second innings was much more special as he protected India from a breakdown as they wound up struggling at 51-5 on the fourth morning.
Talking about his innings in the second innings, Iyer claimed that while it was his debut, he has confronted similar situations many times in the past in domestic cricket.
Talking to the broadcasters after the finish of the play, Iyer said, "I had been in this situation before as well, not with the Indian team but with my Ranji team. The mindset was to play the session and play as many balls as possible. I wasn't thinking too far ahead, was just focusing on the present."
Iyer uncovered it was lead trainer Rahul Dravid's advice to him to play as many balls as possible which meant he had to cut his natural attacking instincts. "Rahul Sir had told me to bat as many balls as possible and I was determined to do that," said the right-handed batsman.
Talking about the record he made on Sunday, Iyer said, "Yeah, I knew about it. When I came back, one of my teammates told me about it. Yeah, many others have done it from other teams but I was told I am the first from India."
Iyer was eventually dismissed for 65 by Tim Southee. His effort along with a gritty 50 years by Wriddhiman Saha and an impressive thump of 32 from Ravichandran Ashwin assisted India with taking a lead of 284 runs before declaring.
New Zealand has as of now lost the wicket of Will Young. India will have to take 9 wickets to win the game on the final day of the game on Monday.




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