Shreyas guides India to solid 258/4 in smoggy New Zealand Test

KANPUR (AFP): Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 75* on debut steadied India after an afternoon wobble to end the opening day of the first Test looking comfortable at 258/4.

Iyer shared an unfinished 113-run partnership with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who made a busy 50* off 100 balls, in the heavily polluted industrial city of Kanpur.

Iyer, the last specialist batsman in the order before bowling all-rounders and the wicketkeeper, hit seven fours and two sixes in his 136-ball innings. His partner at the other end, Jadeja, hit six fours.

Iyer came in after Cheteshwar Pujara's dismissal for 26 off 88 balls to Tim Southee, which left India at 106/3.

India's stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane built a 39-run partnership with Iyer before becoming Kyle Jamieson's third scalp to leave India at 154/4 at tea.

Jamieson, the sharpest of the New Zealand bowlers, had earlier removed India's new opening pair of Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill in his 15.2 overs spell, giving away only 47 runs and taking three wickets.

India were without a rested Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and an injured K.L. Rahul.

The World Test Championship holders picked two specialist spinners – Ajaz Patel and William Somerville – and spinning all-rounder Rachin Ravindra for Kanpur.

Patel bowled his left-arm spin for 21 wicketless overs that cost 78 runs.

Off-spinner Somerville was introduced in the 18th over and bowled a tidy 24-over spell for 60 runs.

The 22-year-old Ravindra, the other debutant in the match, got to bowl for the first time in the 25th over with the ball already gripping and turning on the slow first-day pitch, but failed to take a wicket.

Rahane too packed his side with three specialist spinners in Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel.