Prithvi Shaw celebrates his century on day one of the 1st Test against West Indies. (Source: PTI)
Prithvi Shaw effortlessly lived up to the billing of a “prodigious talent” as he became the youngest Indian to score a century on Test debut and put the hosts in the driving seat in the opening match against a depleted West Indies side at Rajkot on Thursday.
Often being compared to batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, the 18-year-old batting sensation tumbled a slew of records with his scintillating knock of 134 off 154 balls. In the process, Shaw became the fourth-youngest overall to score a ton on his Test debut and became the 15th Indian to hit a century on debut. Riding on his exuberance and flamboyance, the right-handed batsman plundered run at will and in the process hit 19 boundaries in his maiden Test knock. At stumps, India were 364/4 on the first day.
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While Shaw’s ton will be remembered for a long time, let’s take a look at other prominent Indian cricketers who belted century on their debuts.
In November 2013, the right-handed batsman was the 14th Indian batsman to score a Test ton on his debut. Striking an impressive 177-run knock, Sharma anchored India’s 51-run victory against West Indies in the first match in Kolkata. He had been on a purple patch, scoring a double-century in an ODI against Australia four days before he made his milestone test debut.
The flamboyant southpaw had burst onto the international Test cricket scene with a breathtaking century on his maiden match against Australia in Mohali in March 2013. It took him just 85 balls to reach three figures. It was also the fastest recorded century on Test debut. Dhawan was declared as the player of the match for his 187-run knock as India won the match by six wickets.
The diminutive left-hander was the 12th Indian cricketer to score a Test century on debut with a fluent 120-run knock against Sri Lanka in July 2010. His century came nine years after Virendra Sehwag achieved the similar feat against South Africa. He took 192 balls to complete his century. Raina’s innings was crucial as India had been chasing a massive total of 642 to stay afloat in the Test match. The match had ended in a draw.
The explosive right-handed batsman had announced his arrival on the big stage on November 3, 2001, scoring a composed 105 off 173 balls against South Africa. The young batsman from Najafgarh team had a 220-run partnership with Tendulkar. His ton, however, went in vain as India lost the match by nine wickets. Amassing over 8,000 runs at an average of 50 in his 99-Test match career, Sehwag gained the reputation of being the most destructive opener in the history of Test cricket.
One of the most successful Test captains in the Indian cricketing history, Ganguly stormed into the Test arena with a stellar 131-run knock against England at Lord’s in 1996. In his 301-ball stay, he smashed 20 boundaries.
Mohammed Azharuddin: The right-handed batsman, who captained India in 47 Tests, made his Test debut in 1984 against England. The Sunil Gavaskar-led side had elected to bat and were struggling at 127-4 before Azaruddin took charge of the situation. Partnering with Ravi Shastri, Azharuddin steadied the ship by adding 241 runs for the fifth wicket. In the process, he scored a century in his debut match. The match, however, ended in a tame draw owing to a poor weather conditions.
Here’s the full list of Indian cricketers who scored a century on their Test debuts
1. Lala Amarnath, against England in 1933 (118)
2. RH Shodhan, against Pakistan in 1952 (110)
3. AG Kirpal Singh, against New Zealand in 1955 (100*)
4. AA Baig, against England in 1959 (112)
5. Hanumant Singh, against England in 1964 (105)
6. GR Vishwanath, against Australia in 1969 (137)
7. S Amarnath, against New Zealand in 1976 (124)
8. Mohammad Azharuddin, against England in 1984 (110)
9. Pravin Amre, against South Africa in 1992 (103)
10. Sourav Ganguly, against England in 1996 (131)
11. Virender Sehwag, against South Africa in 2001 (105)
12. Suresh Raina, against Sri Lanka in 2010 (120)
13. Shikhar Dhawan, against Australia in 2013 (187)
14. Rohit Sharma, against West Indies in 2013 (177)
15. Prithvi Shaw, against West Indies in 2018 (134)