Out-of-favour India batter Shreyas Iyer scored his first First-Class hundred in three years during the Ranji Trophy second round match between Mumbai and Maharashtra on Saturday.
Walking in at number five for Mumbai at the loss of captain Ajinkya Rahane, Iyer steered Mumbai past Maharashtra’s first-innings score alongside young opener Ayush Mhatre. The pair forged a formidable 200-run stand on Day 2, propelling Mumbai past the 300-run mark.
While Mhatre fell on 176, Iyer proceeded to his hundred in 131 balls on the back of nine fours and three sixes.
The century marked an end to a long drought for Iyer, who has been excluded from India’s Test set-up since India’s home Test series against England in early 2024. The 29-year-old’s last FC hundred came in India colours in November 2021 against New Zealand in Kanpur. Iyer also completed 6000 First Class runs during the knock.
Iyer has endured a poor stretch since the start of the 2024-25 domestic cricket season. In the Duleep Trophy, Iyer only managed 154 runs in six innings, with two fifties and as many ducks. In the following Irani Cup tie for Mumbai, Iyer managed 57 and 8 across two innings. Iyer recorded another duck in the opening round of the Ranji Trophy last week in Baroda.
Iyer, alongwith India wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan, were excluded from the BCCI Central Contracts list in early 2024 when they were deemed to have skipped domestic matches. Though Iyer reasoned back and groin pain for missing out on Ranji matches for Mumbai, the BCCI’s medical team headed by Nitin Patel — the head of sports science at the National Cricket Academy — found no issues with his fitness.
Iyer was an integral part of India’s side across formats last year. The Mumbaikar in particular had a good outing at the World Cup in October-November, where he scored 468 runs, including two centuries and three fifties and was one of the stars. Though he was struggling in Tests, he was given a long rope, before being dropped mid-way through the ongoing series against England.
