India vs New Zealand: Shreyas Iyer reveals he ‘couldn’t get any sleep’ the night before debut Test hundred

India batsman Shreyas Iyer revealed on Friday that he barely got any sleep the night before hitting his maiden Test hundred on debut against New Zealand in Kanpur. Iyer top-scored with 105 runs in India’s first innings total of 345 at the Green Park Stadium.

Iyer became the 16th Indian batsman to hit a hundred on Test debut and the sixth from the country to achieve the feat in this century.

“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.

“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,” Iyer said on Star Sports after the day’s play.

KANPUR TEST: Day 2 Highlights

The 26-year-old also revealed what cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar told him while giving him his maiden Test cap before the start of play on Day 1.

“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’.

New Zealand posted a strong reply on Day 2 with Will Young and Tom Latham taking the team to 129 for no loss by stumps. Young and Latham will resume their innings on 75 and 50, respectively, with the visitors still 216 runs behind the hosts.