IndvNZ: Happy with performance, but win would have been icing on cake, says Iyer

The first Test between India and New Zealand ended as a draw on Monday after the visitors somehow managed to survive and the hosts ended the Test one wicket away from victory.

Ravindra Jadeja scalped four wickets in the second innings while veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin returned with three. "It's a great feeling, but would be the icing on the cake if we had won the game. You can see that the pitch is still intact. We bowled really well. The mindset was to play sessions and play as many balls as possible. People say I am a flamboyant player, don't curb my instincts, but I was just looking to play as many balls," Shreyas Iyer told host broadcasters Star Sports after the first Test ended.

"Enjoyed batting with Ashwin and Saha. Happy with the overall performance of the team. The pressure is always there. They got off to a great start. Once we got a sniff and got quick wickets, we made the best use of the situation," he added. Shreyas Iyer became the hero of the Test as he smashed his maiden century on the Day 2 of the first Test and again stole the show with his knock of 65 helping India in a position of command on day four of the Kanpur Test.

Coming to the match, New Zealand managed to survive by the barest of margins on the last day of the first Test against India after a gritty performance from their lower-order batters insured that visitors walked away with a draw here at Green Park, Kanpur on Monday. Team India managed to take eight wickets on Day 5 of the ongoing first Test but some late drama and stout-hearted performance from visitors' batters clawed back victory from the jaws of hosts.