10 Indian Batsmen Who Scored A Century On Debut For India In Home Tests

India are currently playing the first of the two-match Test series against New Zealand in Kanpur. In the absence of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer got the opportunity to make his debut in Test cricket. The Indian cricketer made full use of the opportunity and went on to score a century in his first outing in Test Cricket. He got out after scoring 105 off 171 deliveries, helping the team reach a competitive total of 345 runs in the first innings.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time when an Indian cricketer has scored a century in his debut Test. Shreyas Iyer is, in fact, the 16^th Indian cricketer to score a century in his debut Test. Of those, 10 batsmen have scored in the home series. In this article, we take a look at those 10 Indian batsmen who have scored a century in home Tests:

10 Indian Batsmen Who Scored A Century On Debut For India In Home Tests

1. Lala Amarnath: 118 against England

For those of you who don’t know, Lala Amarnath was the first Indian cricketer to score a century in his debut Test. England toured India in 1933 for a three-match Test series. Lala Amarnath made his Test debut in the first Test of the series. The home team was bowled out for 219 runs in the first innings and England replied with 438 runs in the second innings.

India’s second innings saw Lala Amarnath play an outstanding knock of 118 runs, including 21 boundaries. Interestingly, this was the only century he made during his Test cricket career. He aggregated 878 runs at an average of 24.38. In first-class cricket, however, he scored 463 wickets.

2. Deepak Shodhan: 110 against Pakistan

Former Indian cricketer, Deepak Shodhan made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1952 at Eden Gardens. He came into the bat at number eight with the side in trouble at 179 for 8. Playing his first game, Deepak, Shodhan impressed one and all with his stroke play.

He went on to score 110 runs and also helped India take a first-innings lead of 140. He, however, didn’t get a chance to bat in the second innings as the match ended in a draw.

He played only three Tests for India and scored 181 runs at an average of 60.33. Besides, he featured in 43 first-class matches and scored 1802 runs.

3. AG Kripal Singh: 100* against New Zealand

Born on 6^th August 1933, AG Kripal Singh was a stalwart of Madras Cricket. Consistent performances at the domestic level helped make his international debut in 1955. He went on to play for India in 14 Tests. Playing his first Test in Hyderabad against New Zealand in 1955, he scored an unbeaten century in the first innings.

Unfortunately, it was the only century he scored during his Test cricket career. He played 14 Tests in his international cricket career and scored 422 runs at an average of 28.1. For the unversed, AG Kripal died at an early age of 53 due to a heart attack. He was serving as the Indian selector at the time of his death.

4. Hanumant Singh: 105 against England 

Former Indian cricketer, Hanumant Singh didn’t do justice to all the talent he had. For those of you who don’t know, Hanumant Singh was the nephew of Duleep Singh and a cousin of Indrajit Sinhji. He made his Test debut against England in the fourth Test on 8^th February 1964 at Feroz Shah Cricket Stadium.

India batted first and posted a good-looking score of 344 runs in the first innings. Hanumant Singh starred with the bat as he scored 105 runs off 230 deliveries, including 16 fours. England, in reply, posted 451 in the second innings. The match eventually resulted in a draw. Sadly, that was the only hundred he scored during his Test cricket career. Hanumant Singh played 14 Tests and scored 686 runs at an average of 31.2.

5. Gundappa Vishwanath

Former Indian cricketer, Gundappa Vishwanath made his debut in Test Cricket in the second Test during Australia’s tour of India in 1969. India batted first and Vishwanath walked out to bat after the loss of the two wickets.

He couldn’t stay too long as he got out on a duck. However, Vishwanath scored his maiden Test century during India’s second innings in the Test. He played a brilliant knock of 137 runs, including 25 fours. With that, he became the first batsman to score a century in the second innings of the debut Test.

Gundappa Vishwanath went on to score a plethora of runs in Test Cricket. He finished his career after playing 91 Tests and scoring 6080 runs at an average of 41.9. He scored 14 centuries and 35 half-centuries in Test Cricket.

6. Mohammad Azharuddin: 100 against England

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin is hailed as one of the greatest players ever played for India. He is also counted among the most successful captains in Indian Cricket. Mohammad Azharuddin announced himself in international cricket with a century on debut. He made his Test debut on 3^rd January 1985 against England.

The third Test between England and India was played at Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata. Playing his first Test, Mohammad Azharuddin came out to bat at number five. He stitched a valuable 214-run partnership with Mohinder Amarnath for the fifth wicket and took India to a great position.

Azharuddin impressed one and all with his attractive stroke-making as he went on to score 110 runs off 322 balls, including 10 fours. He didn’t stop just there he scored another top-class 105-run knock in the next match and followed it with his third consecutive century in his third Test.

7. Shikhar Dhawan: 187 against Australia

On March 18, 2013, Shikhar Dhawan finally got the chance to make his debut in Test Cricket. After grinding for years in domestic cricket, Shikhar Dhawan made his debut for India against Australia in the third of the four-match series.

Opening the batting alongside Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan wrote his name in the history books as he slammed the fastest century by an Indian batsman on debut. He brought up his century in just 85 balls. Dhawan went on to score 187 runs off 174 balls, which is the highest score by an Indian batsman on Test debut to date. India won that game by 6 wickets.

8. Rohit Sharma: 177 against West Indies

Rohit Sharma made his debut in white-ball cricket in the year 2007, however, it took more than 6 years for him to play his first-ever Test match. The Indian cricketer announced himself on the big stage in a blistering manner. He was picked as a middle-order batsman in the first Test against West Indies during West Indies tour of India in 2013. Rohit Sharma walked into bat at number six in the batting order.

India lost 5 wickets for just 83 runs and needed a good partnership to get back into the game. Rohit Sharma then stitched valuable partnerships with MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin to guide the team to 453 runs in the second innings.

The Hitman played a sensational knock of 177 runs off 301 deliveries, including 23 fours and 1 six. It is currently the second-highest score by an Indian batsman on Test debut.

9. Prithvi Shaw: 134 against West Indies

Ahead of the first Test between India and West Indies in 2018, Prithvi Shaw was handed his Test cap. He opened the batting alongside KL Rahul in the first innings. KL Rahul departed on the fourth ball he faced but Prithvi Shaw was keen to show his class.

He played in his aggressive style and went on to score a century. With that, he became the youngest Indian cricketer to score a century on Test debut.

Prithvi Shaw went on to score 134 runs off 154 balls, including as many as 19 fours. The hosts won that game by an innings and 272 runs. So far, he has managed to play 5 Tests for India, scoring 339 runs at a strike rate of 86.00.

10. Shreyas Iyer: 105 against New Zealand

Shreyas Iyer recently made his debut for the subcontinent giants in the Test Cricket in the ongoing first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur. He received his Test cap from legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar. Iyer walked into bat at number five in the batting after the hosts had lost 3 wickets for 106 runs.

Shreyas Iyer took his time to get set before shifting gears. Wickets fell in between but Iyer kept scoring runs with ease. He went on to hit a century and thereby became the 16^th Indian batsman to score a century on Test debut.

Shreyas Iyer got out in the 97^th over after scoring 105 runs off 171 deliveries. His innings helped the hosts post a good-looking 345-run total in the first innings.