In Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra on Saturday, October 19, India batsman Shreyas Iyer put an end to his long wait for a first-class century with a patient 101. This was his first century for the FC in three years; his only other century came in his maiden Test match against New Zealand in November 2021.
After the loss of captain Ajinkya Rahane, who was well set at 31, Iyer came in at number five for Mumbai and, with teenage opener Ayush Mhatre, who struck an incredible 176 before being removed, guided Mumbai beyond Maharashtra’s first-inning mark.

Mumbai jumped off to a commanding lead thanks to a 200-run stand between Iyer and Mhatre for the fourth wicket. With the assistance of nine boundaries and three sixes, Iyer reached his century in 131 deliveries, but Hitesh Malunj ultimately dismissed the latter.

Iyer’s last match wearing the Indian uniform was an ODI series in August versus Sri Lanka. After his disappointing performance in the Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup, he was left out of both the Bangladesh and New Zealand Test squads. He played his last Test match against England in February.

Iyer scored 6,000 runs in his inning on Saturday in the first class. Other than 33 half-centuries, this was his fourteenth century in first-class cricket.

Iyer scored only 154 runs in six innings for the Duleep Trophy, including two half-centuries and an equal number of ducks. The latter didn’t give the selectors any reason to be optimistic, and he had little chance of being chosen for the two Test matches against Bangladesh.

In the subsequent Mumbai Irani Cup match, Iyer scored 57 and eight in two knockouts. Not many changes were made to the roster after India crushed Bangladesh 2-0; Iyer was left out once again, and the team’s lack of consistency increased.

Iyer’s Ranji Trophy campaign also didn’t start off well; Mumbai unexpectedly lost the match by 84 runs despite Iyer scoring 30 runs in two innings against Baroda.

This year, Iyer and Ishan Kishan were removed off the BCCI Central Contracts list for their alleged absence from domestic games. Notably, on Friday against the Railways, the latter also scored a hundred.