Shreyas Iyer becomes first player to achieve rare feat in India's 89-year Test cricket history

Shreyas Iyer has become the first Indian player in the nation’s 89-year-old history in the format to score a century on Test debut and follow it up with a half-century. Iyer scored 105 in the first innings at Green Park, Kanpur and followed it up with another half-century to save India from a batting collapse on Day 4. 

In 1934, Dilawar Hussain became the first Indian to register fifty-plus scores on Test debut against England in Kolkata. 35 years later, legendary Sunil Gavaskar achieved the same feat against West Indies in Port of Spain. Earlier this year, India women’s young opener Shafali Verma too scored half-centuries in both innings of a Test against England.  

After four decades, Iyer bettered the feat achieved by Hussain and Gavaskar as he scored a century in his debut innings as well. Interestingly, the 26-year-old got his Test cap from Gavaskar who was in commentary box when Iyer crossed the 50-run mark in the second session of Day 4. He scored 65 runs from 125 deliveries and got out at the stroke of tea break. Tim Southee got the Mumbai batter out in both innings. He hit eight fours and one six in the counter-attacking knock. 

With a total of 170 runs on a tough Kanpur pitch, the middle-order batter registered third-highest score by an Indian on Test debut. Only Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan (187) and Rohit Sharma (177) have scored more runs than Iyer.