Shreyas Iyer becomes first Indian to score century and fifty on Test debut

Shreyas Iyer hit a fine half-century today to get India out of trouble in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand, becoming the first cricketer from the country to score a century and a fifty on debut.

Iyer made 65 in the second innings to go with his brilliant 105 in the first.

Coming into the side due to an injury to KL Rahul and players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma rested, Iyer put in a performance to remember, notching up several milestones.

He became the first Indian men's cricketer since Sunil Gavaskar to register two scores of 50 or more in their first match.

The right-hander from Mumbai is also third on the list of most runs by an Indian men's cricketer on Test debut. Shikhar Dhawan tops the chart with 187 runs against Australia in his first match.

Shreyas Iyer rescue act keeps India in the match against New Zealand

Shreyas Iyer's century in the first innings helped India reach a total of 345 before Axar Patel's fifer saw New Zealand bowled out for 296. However, India found themselves in a hole in the second innings, with Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson running ragged once again.

India began Day 4 with the scoreboard reading 14/1, having lost Shubman Gill to Jamieson yesterday. Cheteshwar Pujara fell early on Sunday and Ajinkya Rahane was soon to follow.

Iyer came in to bat with the score at 41/3. It was soon 51/5 as Mayank failed to kick on to a good score and Ravindra Jadeja fell for a duck.

But Iyer dug in and got India out of trouble with key partnerships with Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha.

The 26-year-old and Ashwin (32) put on 52 runs for the sixth wicket, before Saha and Iyer put on 64 runs.

Iyer's knock was a much needed one as India look to put on a big enough target for New Zealand to chase.

Playing his first match, the right-hander showed that he is not just a quick scorer as his First-Class strike rate of 81 before this match would suggest, but can also adapt and grind hard in difficult situations.

Iyer scored eight boundaries and one six in his 125-ball stay in India's second essay in Kanpur.