105 Runs on Debut Match : Video of Shreyas Iyer Batting : 13 Fours 2 Sixes : IND v NZ

India vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Kanpur, Nov 25 – 29 2021, New Zealand tour of India

New Zealand 129 for 0 (Young 75*, Latham 50*) trail India 345 (Iyer 105, Gill 52, Jadeja 50, Southee 5-69, Jamieson 3-91) by 216 runs

Toss : India won the toss and Chose to Bat First

Day 2 Report : Despite the Shreyas Iyer’s century on debut, Day 2 completely belonged to the Blackcaps. Southee’s five-for had already made the day special for the Kiwis, but it were the openers who seized the day. To not lose their wicket for 57 overs to the Indian spin bowling trio is very commendable. Tom Latham had some nervy decisions go against him but he immediately took the DRS to save himself. You would fancy India’s chances to pick a wicket in the first 10-15 overs given their experienced bowling attack. If not, maybe the spinners can come in a later and do their trick with the old ball.

Highest opening stands for NZ in India
231 M Richardson – L Vincent Mohali 2003/04
131 M Horne – G Stead Ahmedabad 1999/00
129*T Latham – W Young Kanpur 2021/22

But New Zealand’s batters showed some highly skillful batting. Both the openers have scored fifties, with Young being the aggressor in the partnership. Of course,Kiwis are trail by 216 runs, but the kind of start they have got has put them in the driver’s seat. This is the only real chance for New Zealand to better their Test record in India. Batters like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Pant will come in the second test. The challenge will be a lot tougher then. I believe the Blackcaps realize this. Their impressive performance speaks for it. 

Cheteshwar Pujara: It (preparation) has been good. I was part of the IPL, didn’t play but was training and preparing whenever I got time. So, the prep has been good. We also had a good practice session in Mumbai. It’s good to be back playing at home because we haven’t played in India for a while now. Their (Virat, Rohit) absence does give the others a chance to prove themselves. It (responsibility) is there obviously but I don’t think I should think too much about it. This track was a bit slow the last time we played here, but did spin later.

Batsmen thrice overturning OUT decision in an innings (Tests)
Moeen Ali vs Ban Chattogram 2016/17
Tom Latham vs Ind Kanpur 2021/22

Last time a Test match was played here was five years ago. It was India-New Zealand back then as well. Looks very similar to the one last five years. Bereft of grass. We can see cracks opening up. It will be good for batting early on, but those cracks will open up. Maybe play up and down later on. The cracks are prominent already and the edges are wobbly. Ball will turn and looks abrasive as well, so reverse swing will come into play as well. I like this concept of home series, home pitch. You turn in New Zealand it looks very green. You come here this is what you expect. So players have got to adapt

Shreyas Iyer: “I was really happy with the way everything went right from day one. Couldn’t get good sleep last night. Especially when you are batting overnight, I thought I batted really well yesterday but had to still focus again today. He (Sunil Gavaskar) motivated me a lot while giving me the cap but the one thing he told me that stayed in my mind is, ‘don’t look too far ahead and just enjoy yourself’. I wasn’t able to sleep well at all, got up early at five today morning but when you make a century, it’s a wonderful feeling. They got off to a good start obviously but it’s important for us to not leak runs because the cracks are opening up and it should get trickier tomorrow.”

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