Debutant Iyer stars again to give India headache

Shreyas Iyer's dream Test debut has put India in pole position in the opening Test against New Zealand but it has also presented his team with a selection headache before the second and final match in Mumbai next week.

With several frontline batters, including regular skipper Virat Kohli, either resting or recuperating, India picked a depleted squad with Ajinkya Rahane as the stand-in captain for the opening Test in Kanpur.

Iyer grabbed the opportunity with both hands and followed his first-innings 105 with an equally crucial 65 on Sunday to put India in the box seat.

Kohli is set to return to the squad for the Mumbai Test and batting coach Vikram Rathour said they were not in a hurry to finalise the playing XI yet.

"The captain coming back in, that will happen in the next game," Rathour said after the penultimate day's play at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium on Sunday.

"We'll get to that point when we reach Mumbai. At this point, we want to focus on this game. There's still a way to go and there's a game to be won."

New Zealand had earlier claimed four wickets in the morning session to nose ahead on the penultimate day of the see-sawing contest.

But Iyer forged 50-plus stands with Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha to revive India who declared their second innings on 7-234.

Chasing a daunting victory target of 284 on a worn-out track, the tourists were 1-4 when bad light stopped play.

Rathour was effusive in his praise for Iyer,.

"It's always exciting to see a debutant come in and score a hundred. It's very special, but I think he played even better in the second innings."

"He is a very confident young guy who uses his feet well and plays spin bowling really well."

Calls have grown to drop either Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara, both of whom have been short of runs, to accommodate Iyer.

"I understand both are going through lean phases," Rathour said of India's senior batsmen.

"But they've played very important knocks for us in the past. We're pretty sure they'd come back and play more such knocks for the team."

A key moment on Sunday may have come right at the end when New Zealand opener Will Young was given out lbw to Ashwin, a verdict which could have been reversed only for the batter to be too late to review the decision.

Tom Latham will resume on two on Monday with nightwatchman Will Somerville, who is yet to open his account, for company.

New Zealand's Tim Southee (3-75) had struck twice in three balls in the morning session as they blew away India's top order after the home side had resumed on 1-14.

Kyle Jamieson (3-40) conceded a couple of early boundaries before he dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara, who made 22, to open the floodgates.

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel further pegged back India when he trapped stand-in home captain Ajinkya Rahane lbw for four with an arm-ball that kept low.

Southee then twisted the knife by removing opener Mayank Agarwal, caught in the slips, and Ravindra Jadeja, trapped lbw, in a two-wicket maiden over to reduce India to 5-51.

Iyer and Ashwin, who made 32, not only steadied the innings but also scored briskly to put the pressure back on New Zealand.

Iyer, who became the first Indian batter to smash a hundred and a fifty on Test debut, departed on the stroke of tea but Saha soldiered on despite a stiff neck that kept him off the field on Saturday.

Saha remained unbeaten on 61, having featured in a second 50-plus partnership with Axar Patel who made 28 not out before India declared.