5 Indian Batsmen With The Highest Scores On Test Cricket Debut

Test Cricket is hailed as the truest format of the game. There is no denying that Test Cricket is the pinnacle of the sport and it isn’t easy to craft a successful career in the longest format. Playing Test Cricket for your country is no less than a dream for any cricketer. There aren’t a lot of players who get the opportunity to represent the nation at the highest format and that too in Test Cricket.

A cricketer ought to have the right technique, great temperament, and the hunger to play for a long period of time to succeed in Test Cricket. On Thursday, ahead of the first Test between India and New Zealand, Shreyas Iyer was handed his Test cap by no other than legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

Playing his first-ever Test match, he is currently unbeaten at 75 off 136 balls at stumps on Day 1. Shreyas Iyer would be hoping to keep going and notch a century in his maiden Test cricket match.

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So far in the history of Indian cricket, as many as 15 players have managed to hit a century on their Test debut. In this article, we take a look at the five highest individual scores by an Indian batsman on Test debut.

5 Indian Batsmen With The Highest Scores On Test Cricket Debut

5. Sourav Ganguly: 131 runs against England in 1996

The former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly made his debut in Test Cricket against England in 1996 at Lord’s Cricket Ground. England batted first and notched a pretty good total of 344 runs in the first innings. Playing his debut game, Sourav Ganguly came at number three in the batting order. India had lost 2 wickets for 59 and needed a partnership to get back into the game.

Sachin Tendulkar then joined hands with Sourav Ganguly and led a remarkable recovery. Sachin got out after scoring 31 runs but Sourav Ganguly went on to score big.

Wickets kept falling at one end, but Sourav Ganguly held firm at the other end. Ganguly went on to score 131 runs off just 301 balls, including 20 fours. Thanks to his valuable knock, India scored 429 runs in the second innings and the game eventually resulted in a draw.

Sourav Ganguly’s 131-run knock in his debut game is currently the fifth-highest individual score on debut by an Indian batsman in Test Cricket.

4. Prithvi Shaw: 134 against West Indies in 2018

Prithvi Shaw is the 15^th Indian batsman to score a hundred on Test debut. He was selected in India’s squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies in 2018. Prithvi Shaw was given the opportunity to open the batting in the first Test. His partner got out on a duck but Shaw didn’t let that affect his batting. He played his natural game and hit as many as 19 boundaries in his debut knock.

The Indian batsman scored a blistering 134-run knock off 154 deliveries. Besides, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant also scored centuries, helping the team post a gigantic 649-run total in the first innings.

India bowled out West Indies for 181 and 196 in the next two innings to win the game by an innings and 272 runs. In the next game, Shaw played another solid knock of 70 runs off just 53 balls, followed by an unbeaten 33 off 45. He finished the series as the highest run-scorer with 237 runs in 2 matches at an average of 118.50.

3. Gundappa Vishwanath: 137 against Australia in 1969

Former Indian cricketer, Gundappa Vishwanath made his debut in Test cricket in Australia’s tour of India in 1969. He didn’t get off to a great start as he got out for a golden duck in the first innings of his Test cricket career.

However, Vishwanath bounce back strongly in the next innings and went on to score an outstanding 137-run knock in the second innings. His knock was laced with 25 fours. It helped the team score 312 runs in India’s second innings. The match although resulted in a draw in the end.

2. Rohit Sharma: 177 against West Indies in 2013

It took a lot of years for Rohit Sharma to make his debut in Test cricket. He got the opportunity to represent in white-ball cricket quite early in his career but the same couldn’t happen in the longest format of the game.

Rohit Sharma made his Test cricket debut during the West Indies tour of India in 2013. He was selected to bat in the lower order for India in the first Test against West Indies at Eden Garden.

West Indies batted first and scored a below-par total of 234 runs in the first innings. India too didn’t get off to a great start as they lost 5 wickets for just 83 runs. Rohit Sharma then stitched a valuable partnership between MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin to help India get back into the game.

Rohit Sharma went on to score a sensational 177-run total in 301 balls, a knock which was laced with 23 fours and a six. India won that game by an innings and 51 runs. Rohit Sharma’s 177-run knock is currently the second-highest individual score by an Indian batsman on Test debut.

1. Shikhar Dhawan: 187 against Australia in 2013

   

Shikhar Dhawan currently holds the record for notching the highest scoring by an Indian batsman on Test debut. Much like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan too had to grind hard in domestic cricket to earn a Test call-up.

He finally got the chance to represent India in the third Test of Australia’s tour of India in 2013 at Mohali. Australia notched a good-looking 408-run total in the first innings after Michael Clarke had won the toss and elected to bat first.

The second innings saw Shikhar Dhawan open the innings with Murali Vijay. 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.