Shreyas Iyer makes his mark in ODI with maiden ton

Indian origin name Shreyas generally means superior or fame. India's Shreyas Iyer rose to fame on Wednesday (February 5) when he hit his first ODI hundred against New Zealand in Hamilton.

Shreyas Iyer scored 103 runs off 107 balls batting at No.4. He joined a select list of India No.4 batsmen who have hit a hundred in ODIs.

Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh and Ambati Rayudu were the previous achievers.

Iyer joined Mohinder Amarnath as the only India No.4s to hit 100s against New Zealand.

Shreyas Iyer took 16 ODIs to get to his first ton in international cricket.

With seven fifties to his name, Iyer's previous best was 88 which he got as early as his second ODI against Sri Lanka in 2017.

However, New Zealand beat India by four wickets in the first match of the ODI series, with the batting abilities of Ross Taylor (109 from 84 balls). Final score-India 347/4, New Zealand 348/6 (48.1 overs).

Iyer stepped up once again when the team was in a tough position having lost openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal in quick succession. He joined captain Virat Kohli and steadied the ship.

He posted two successive century partnership with Kohli and KL Rahul respectively. His role was crucial in getting India's mammoth total of 347/4.

Iyer made headlines when Delhi Daredevils bought him at the 2015 IPL auction for a whopping Rs 26 million. Opening the batting, he aggregated 439 runs from 14 matches and went to win the IPL emerging player of the year award.

Iyer had come through the Under-19 ranks, hitting back-to-back half-centuries in the playoffs to help India Under-19s finish fifth in the 2014 World Cup in the UAE.

Born in 1994 in Mumbai, Shreyas represented India, Delhi Capitals, Delhi Daredevils, India A, India Under-19s, Mumbai, Mumbai Under-19s in cricket.