5 Indian Batsmen Who Have Scored A Century On Their Test Cricket Debut

Playing Test cricket for your nation is the biggest dream for any cricketer. Not a lot of players have managed to realize that dream. In a country like India, it isn’t easy to get into the Test team.

Shreyas Iyer, on Thursday, felt on top of the world after making his Test debut in the ongoing first Test between India and New Zealand on Kanpur.

It hasn’t been an easy journey for Iyer en-route to his Test debut. He suffered a shoulder injury, due to which he got ruled out of the first half of the IPL 2021. He also found himself out of the reckoning for India’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad.

However, Iyer defied all odds and made a brilliant comeback. Much to his delight, Shreyas Iyer got his Test cap on Thursday from none other than legendary Sunil Gavaskar. It will be icing on the cake if he manages to score a century in his debut Test.

There are several cricketers who have made great starts to their Test cricket careers. Some of them have even managed to score a century in their debut game. On that note, we take a look at five Indian batsmen who have managed to score a century in their debut Test.

5 Indian Batsmen Who Have Scored A Century On Their Test Cricket Debut

1. Virender Sehwag: 105 against South Africa in 2001 

Former Indian cricketer, Virender Sehwag made his Test debut in the first Test of India’s tour to South Africa in 2001.  Sehwag batted in the middle-order and came out in the middle when India looked in trouble at 68 for 4. He joined Sachin Tendulkar and added 220 runs for the fifth wicket to lead a remarkable recovery.

Sehwag took some time at the start before going all guns blazing later on in his innings. Virender Sehwag went on to score 105 runs in the debut innings of his Test cricket career.

Despite the efforts, India lost that game, however, Sehwag showed why the team backed him to play both formats. He went on to score tons of runs for India in Test cricket and also became the first Indian cricketer to score a triple century in Test cricket.

2. Suresh Raina: 120 against Sri Lanka in 2010

Suresh Raina couldn’t make a successful career in Test cricket but he began his Test cricket career in a blistering fashion. Suresh Raina made his Test cricket debut in the 2^nd Test of India’s tour to Sri Lanka, played in Colombo in 2010.

Courtesy of stellar knocks from Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tharanga, Sri Lanka posted a mammoth 642 after winning the toss and batting first. Suresh Raina came out in the middle to bat after India had lost 4 wickets for 241 runs.

Raina didn’t let the bowler create pressure as he kept rotating the strike regularly. He went to score 120 runs before getting caught by Sangakkara off the bowling of Ajanta Mendis.

Suresh Raina made a valuable contribution in the 256-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar and thereby helped India save the follow-on. India, as a result, posted 707 runs in the second innings and the game resulted in a draw.

3. Shikhar Dhawan: 187 against Australia in 2013

After piling on runs consistently in domestic cricket, Shikhar Dhawan finally got the opportunity to make his Test Cricket debut for India during the Australia tour of India in 2013. Dhawan made his Test debut in the third Test in Mohali. Australia batted first and posted a mammoth 408-run total in the first innings. Shikhar Dhawan walked out to open the inning for the team in the second innings.

He played aggressively right from the start of his innings, while his partner Murali Vijay played as a second fiddle. Dhawan scored runs all around the ground and spared none during his stay at the crease. He brought up his century in just 85 deliveries and went on to score 187 runs off 174 balls. Dhawan couldn’t bat in the second innings due to an injury but India won that game by 6 wickets.

4. Rohit Sharma: 177 vs West Indies in 2013

   

It took a very long time for Rohit Sharma to make his debut in Test Cricket. He played the first white-ball game back in 2007 but had to wait for 6 years to represent India in the longest format of the game. Rohit Sharma played his first Test match against West Indies in 2013 at Kolkata.

West Indies’ skipper Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to bat first. However, the Men from the Caribbean couldn’t bat well on a good batting surface and were folded for just 234 runs in the first innings. Much to everyone’s surprise, India too didn’t make a great start. The Men in Blue lost 4 wickets for just 82 runs on the board.

Virat Kolhi too didn’t stay long as he got out after scoring three runs. Rohit Sharma then added 73 runs with MS Dhoni to steady the innings. Rohit then added 280 runs for the seventh wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin to lead a remarkable recovery.

Rohit Sharma went on to score a hundred in his debut Test. He reached the milestone with three consecutive fours off Sheldon Cottrell. India won that game by an innings and 51 runs.

5. Prithvi Shaw: 134 runs against West Indies in 2018

Young rising star, Prithvi Shaw also finds his name in the elite list. He got the opportunity to play his first Test for India during the West Indies tour of India in 2018. Prithvi Shaw opened the batting for India in the first Test of the series at Rajkot after Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat first. After KL Rahul departed early, Prithvi Shaw stitched a 206-run partnership for the second wicket alongside Pujara.

While the latter got out after scoring 86 runs, Prithvi Shaw went on to score a century. He scored 134 runs in just 154 balls, a knock which was laced with 19 boundaries. Thanks to those contributions, India declared their innings at 649 for 9. Virat Kohli and Co. won that game a big margin of an innings and 272 runs. Young Prithvi Shaw was awarded the Player of the Match for his heart-warming knock.