How many Indian batters have scored a hundred on Test debut?
Young Team India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal made a terrific start to his Test career, notching up a hundred on debut on Day 2 of the Dominica Test against West Indies on Thursday.
The 21-year-old, who received a maiden call-up to the Indian team on the back of some excellent domestic performances coupled with his IPL heroics, has looked at complete ease during his first Test innings.
After India bowled out West Indies for a paltry 150 on Day 1 of the opening Test, Jaiswal went to stumps unbeaten on 40. He carried on his impressive fashion on Day 2 and reached his much-deserved hundred on Test debut in the 70th over of India’s innings by paddling Alick Athanaze to fine leg for a single.
With his ton, Jaiswal also became the first Indian opener to score a Test ton on debut away from home. The left-handed batter ended the day unbeaten on 143 off 350 balls, having struck 14 fours. He will look to convert his debut Test ton into a big knock.
Overall, Jaiswal is the 17th Indian batter to score a hundred on Test debut.
List of Indian batters with century on Test debut
The legendary Lala Amarnath was the first Indian to score a hundred on Test debut. He notched up 118 against England in Mumbai during a Test match in 1933, an innings which featured 21 fours. However, India lost the Test by nine wickets.
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Deepak Shodhan (110 vs Pakistan, Kolkata 1952) and AG Kripal Singh (100* vs New Zealand, Hyderabad 1955) were the next two batters from India to score debut Test tons, while Abbas Ali Baig became the first cricketer from the country to score a Test century away from home. He scored 112 against England in Manchester back in 1959.
While Hanumant Singh made 105 against England in 1964 in Delhi, Gundappa Viswanath scored a duck as well as a hundred in his first Test against Australia in Kanpur in 1969. After being dismissed without scoring in the first innings, he notched up 137 in the second.
Surinder Amarnath had a short Test career, but one which began with a famous 124 against New Zealand in Auckland in 1976. The knock came in a memorable eight-wicket triumph.
Former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin announced himself with 110 against England at Eden Gardens in 1984-85. He scored tons in his next two Tests as well.
Eight years after Azhar’s feat, Pravin Amre scored 103 on his Test debut against South Africa in Durban (1992). This knock is regarded among the finest overseas tons by an Indian on debut.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly also scored a famous hundred on his Test debut - 131 at Lord’s in 1996.
Ganguly’s protege, Virender Sehwag, then slammed a century in his maiden Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein, scoring an attractive 105. Suresh Raina also scored a hundred on Test debut, contributing 120 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2010.
Shikhar Dhawan smashed the fastest hundred on Test debut (85 balls) against Australia in Mohali in 2013. He ended up scoring 187 off 174 balls.
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Interestingly, the last four hundreds scored by Indian batters on Test debut have been notched up by Mumbai players - Rohit Sharma (177 vs West Indies, Kolkata 2013), Prithvi Shaw (134 vs West Indies, Rajkot 2018), Shreyas Iyer (105 vs New Zealand, Kanpur) and now Jaiswal.
Shreyas went on to become the first Indian player to score a hundred and a fifty on his Test debut.