Shreyas Iyer century: List of Indian cricketers who have scored a hundred on Test debut

Team India’s middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, on Friday, became the 16th Indian cricketer to score a century on his Test debut. Shreyas reached the landmark in the 92nd over of India’s innings by dabbing Kyle Jamieson for a couple on Day 2 of the Kanpur Test against New Zealand.

Shreyas, who got his opportunity after KL Rahul was ruled out of the Test series, grabbed his chance with both hands to make a memorable Test debut. He walked in to bat at no.5 on Day 1, with India having lost Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Following the dismissal of stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane, he featured in a century stand with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (50) to bail India out of a mini-crisis.

At stumps on Day 1, Shreyas was unbeaten on 75 off 136 balls. He continued his good work on Friday and eased towards a maiden hundred on Test debut. He was eventually dismissed for 105 by Tim Southee.

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Indian batters with century on Test debut

Before Shreyas, 15 Indian batters had scored a hundred in their first Test match. Here’s a quick recap:

Lala Amarnath was the first Indian to score a century on Test debut. He made 118 against England in Mumbai during a Test match back in 1933 with the aid of 21 fours. India, however, lost the Test by nine wickets.

After Amarnath, Deepak Shodhan (110 vs Pakistan, Kolkata 1952) and AG Kripal Singh (100* vs New Zealand, Hyderabad 1955) also hit impressive hundreds. Abbas Ali Baig became the first Indian to slam a Test hundred away from home. He scored 112 against England in Manchester in 1959, a match India lost by 171 runs.

Hanumant Singh scored 105 against England in 1964 during a drawn encounter while Gundappa Viswanath made a unique Test debut. He was dismissed for a duck against Australia in Kanpur in 1969, but then hammered 137 in the second innings.

Surinder Amarnath registered a score of 124 in India’s famous eight-wicket win over New Zealand in Auckland in 1976. Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin made his Test debut with 110 against England at Eden Gardens in 1984-85 and went on to score centuries in his next two Tests as well.

Pravin Amre (103) scored a famous hundred on Test debut in Durban (1992) against a South African attack comprising Allan Donald, Brian McMillan and Brett Schultz. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly then announced his Test arrival with 131 at Lord’s (1996).

Five years later, Virender Sehwag hit a swashbuckling 105 against the Proteas in Bloemfontein. After a long gap, Suresh Raina became the next Indian to notch up a ton on Test debut. He scored 120 against Sri Lanka in Colombo (2010).

In 2013 against Australia in Mohali, Shikhar Dhawan slammed a fastest hundred on Test debut (85 balls) and ended up blasting 187 off 174 balls. Before Shreyas, the last two Indians to hit a hundred on Test debut were also from Mumbai - Rohit Sharma (177 vs West Indies, Kolkata 2013) and Prithvi Shaw (134 vs West Indies, Rajkot 2018).