Every cricketer has a dream to have a flying start to their career and, more specifically, in the most wonderful cricket format, Test Cricket. There have been many to score well on their maiden test innings, but not often do we see young guys out there hitting a debut century. But despite young blood running through their body, we have witnessed many great knocks coming in with grit and perseverance throughout.
So, let’s have a look at the Top 10 Highest Scores by an Indian Cricketer on Test debut:
1) Shikhar Dhawan – 187(174) vs Australia (2013)
Well, who would have thought that the same guy who got out on a two-ball duck on his ODI debut a few years back against the same haunting opposition of Australia would go on to hit an impressive hundred in mere 85 balls – the fastest by a Test debutant. Also, he is the oldest player to hit a three-digit score on his test debut. Already in search of runs and filled with hinger to showcase his talent, Gabbar meal served a delicious meal to gratify the taste buds of every Indian fan out there, and his big daddy hundred, which almost was going to be a double hundred, was garnished with some classy shots, and his well-composed innings ended with him hitting 33 well-timed fours and two big hits into the crowd.
2) Rohit Sharma – 177(301) vs West Indies (2013)
No doubt Rohit Sharma has been top-notch in limited-overs cricket but never had we seen our very own Hitman out there on the ground fighting hard for every run. Yes, his struggle didn’t go in vain. To be honest, the process he went through, the balls he faced, and the situation he batted in showcased what this guy had in stores to show us how mature a player he had been that day. His evergreen love for his favorite shot, the pull shot was all there as He hit such shots throughout and ended one of the most memorable test innings consisting of 23 boundaries and 1 six.
3) Yashasvi Jaiswal – 171(387) vs West Indies (2023)
Continuing from his brilliant form in the Indian Premier League, the Uttar Pradesh-born Yashasvi Jaiswal lived his dream debut on the first day of India’s 1st Test against West Indies. This is also the start of the 2023-25 WTC cycle for Team India. After the entire West Indies side was wrapped up for 150 runs, thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin’s quick 5-for, the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal walked out on Day-1 with a score of 80/0. Jaiswal took his innings to another level the next day; he stayed unbeaten for a whole day on Day-2. The West Indian bowlers finally found a way to dismiss Jaiswal at the score of 171 on the first session of Day-3, which included 16 fours and 1 six. Experts claimed the Rajasthan Royals player batted like a seasoned pro.
4) GR Viswanath – 137 vs Australia (1969)
Technically it wasn’t his debut innings, as in the first innings of the match, he went out for a duck. But what was waiting for him to show was unreal as a young man who got out on duck the previous innings. Viswanath went on to play an impressive knock of 137 comprising 25 boundaries across the park in the second innings of his debut game. Surprisingly he was the first player to score another century in his career after smashing a century on debut. This innings helped them to draw the match with Australia.
5) Prithvi Shaw – 134(154) vs West Indies (2018)
Already high on confidence, Prithvi Shaw, who had earned maiden call up into the test side had won U-19 World Cup as a captain, and he was always on talks. He made that year a more memorable year for him as he played an exceptional knock of 134 off just 154 deliveries with the help of 19 fours. He became the youngest cricketer to hit a century on test debut, and for his outstanding innings, which helped India win the match, he was adjudged the man of the match. His record of being the youngest to score may remain the same for years to come.
6) Sourav Ganguly – 131(301) vs England (2016)
How can someone forget this innings? The swashbuckling southpaw out there on his debut along with Rahul Dravid when both stitched a really important partnership. Dravid, who too was on his debut, got dismissed for just 5 runs before reaching his maiden hundred. But the former didn’t let this chance go away as he went on to score the highest score on test debut on the epic Lords venue with the help of 20 good boundaries. Dada went on to became one of the best captains for India and amassed 18000+ runs in his international stint as an aggressive batsman.
7) Surinder Amarnath – 124 vs New Zealand (1976)
He came in to rescue India from a tricky situation. Tthe team was trailing by 266 runs when he walked in. Him and Sunil Gavaskar went on to play a part in a crucial partnership of 204. Like father like son, he followed his father’s footsteps to be on the elite list of debutants hitting a century on their Test debut. His brilliant knock of 124 comprising of 16 fours a hit in the crowd helped India secure a massive lead of 148. He couldn’t do much in his second innings, but his debut knock was outstanding as it is still remembered as one of the best knocks by a debutant.
8) Suresh Raina – 120(228) vs Sri Lanka (2010)
Known for his excellent batting style, this crafty batsman back then had already impressed everyone by being the first batsman to hit a century for India in T20Is. Now it was the time for him to showcase his talent in Test cricket. Playing along with Sachin Tendulkar, the God of Cricket, they both added 256 runs off 419 balls to avoid getting follow on imposed. Suresh’s gritty knock of 120 consisting of 12 fours and two consecutive sixes made him the first Indian player to hit a century in every game format, which took many years to be replicated.
9) Lala Amarnath – 118 vs England (1933)
This very test match was a match of records to be broken as it was the first match to be played on Indian soil against a strong side of England. Also, a fun trivia: this was the first Test match back then to start on a Sunday. The bowlers were in no mood to spare the batsman, and the attacking bowlers bowled out India for a paltry 219 in the first innings and Lala top-scored with the score of 38. Well, no one would have thought that he may score the first-ever hundred for India, be it as a debutant or otherwise, and he, later on, became the first captain of independent India. He top-scored in the second innings too, with the score of 118 consisting of 21 fours.
10) Abbas Ali Baig – 112 vs England (1959)
Well, it was the 4th match of the series against England where India already lost the series as they were down by a margin of 0-3. Further, their little hopes were also shattered as the great Vijay Manjrekar was out owing to an injury. Already ahead in the match, England gave a mammoth target of 548 or to bat out two days. When the Indian loss was inevitable, they just went on to play some good game for pride and then came a sensational knock from this youngster. He became the first overseas batsman to score a century on Test debut and he was then the youngest to do so.
Also Read: Most Centuries by an Opener in all Formats together
