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Ireland may have ended up on the losing side in their maiden international appearance in whites, but not before winning a lot of hearts and having Pakistan revisit scares of 2007.
After being bundled out for a paltry 130 in their debut Test innings, they showed a lot of character as they came back with a strong performance following on.
After posting a 159 runs second innings lead and leaving Pakistan reeling at 14-3, ripping through their top order, the Irish justified their inclusion amongst the Big Boys for the real 'test'.
Let us revisit the first centurions from each Test playing nation as we welcome Ireland and Afghanistan to the biggest cricketing Test of all.
Ireland: Kevin O'Brien
Ireland's courageous reply to a potent Pakistani attack was lead by none other than burly Irish all-rounder Kevin O'Brien, whose patient sojourn at the crease gave a lot to cheer to the Irish fans.
Coming in to bat at a precarious situation with his team at 94-4, still, 86 runs from avoiding an innings defeat, the right-handed batsman never looked uncomfortable during his five and a half hour batting essay that he will remember for a lifetime.
His 217 ball stay at the crease saw him hit 12 boundaries as he strung a vital 114 run stand with Stuart Thompson (53).
Most famous for his record for the fastest World Cup century that came in 2011 against England, the hard hitting all-rounder curbed his attacking instincts as he clinically rotated the strike.
His effort not just saved Ireland from an embarrassing defeat, but also gave his bowlers some runs to bowl at the visitors that in turn helped them make a match out of it.
Becoming just the fourth batsman to score a century in his country's maiden Test, Kevin O'Brien was deservedly adjudged Man of the Match.
Australia: Charles Bannerman
This right-handed batsman became the first centurion in Test match cricket as he notched up three figures before the end of the first day's play.
Forced to retire hurt after scoring a 165, Bannerman went on to play just 3 Tests as illness cut short his playing career.
England born Australian batsman Charles Bannerman holds a lot of significance as far as cricket history is concerned.
The first man to face a ball in Test cricket, Bannerman was also the first to score a run when he opened his account in the inaugural Test in 1877 at the MCG.
He later went on to take up mentorship and coaching roles and also served the game as an umpire. His match-winning score of 165* stays, till date, as the highest scored by the first centurion of any Test playing nation.
The fact that Australia only managed 245 in that innings exemplifies his batting class and pedigree.
England: W.G. Grace
Playing in his debut match, at The Oval in 1880 against Australia, Grace's 152 at the top of the order was a fitting reply to Bannerman's 165*.
And just like the Australian's innings, it proved to be detrimental for the opposition, as Grace ensured that he helped England win their inaugural Test at home.
Often remembered as the 'Father of 'Cricket', William Gilbert Grace can have an entire page in a book glorifying the history of Test cricket. England could have found nobody better than Grace to score their maiden century.
Having ended with more than 54000 First Class runs, Grace also picked up 2809 wickets along his illustrious career that spanned 870 matches.
It is totally normal for one to re-read the previous line and find it difficult to come to terms with cricket statistics that one may not even end up racking up in video games.
Grace's sheer brilliance lay in the fact that his achievements make us question if at all there existed a human being who could do so much on a cricket field for so long and so consistently.
South Africa: Jimmy Sinclair
Playing in his fourth and his country's eighth match, right-handed Jimmy Sinclair went on to register South Africa's maiden Test century (106) against England in Cape Town in 1898.
Sinclair, who batted at the crucial number 4 position, was also the first Proteas' batsman to score a half-century, a feat he had achieved in the previous game.
South Africa started playing Test cricket in the year 1889 but they had to wait for close to a decade for seeing one of their batsmen breaching the three-figure mark.
However, unlike Bannerman and Grace, Sinclair's momentous feat did not prove to be enough to secure a win for South Africa, who conceded defeat in each of their eight matches thus far.
A player with all-round ability, Sinclair played 25 Tests in his career and ended up scoring 1069 runs at 23.23 and picking up 63 wickets at 31.68.
Windies: Clifford Roach
After getting out for a duck, without even facing a ball in his maiden Test innings in 1928, which was also Windies' first Test, aggressive opener Roach went on to score a magnificent 122 to become the first man from the Carribean to score a Test hundred.
His attacking instinct made him a thorough crowd entertainer as he developed a habit of scoring a majority of his runs through boundaries.
If his batting skills could be called astute, his fielding was sharp to say the least, as he came to be known as a reliable fielder in the cover region.
New Zealand: Stewie Dempster
In only his second Test appearance, which was also his country's second, the dashing opener strung a solid opening stand worth 276, till date a New Zealand record for the first wicket, with partner and debutant Jackie Mills.
Stewie Dempster is one of the finest batsmen that New Zealand has ever produced. Sound technique, nimble footwork, and dominant off-side play were characteristic traits to his batting style that helped him rule the batting charts for years in First Class cricket.
In fact, in a Neil Armstrong-Edwin Aldrin type of a situation, Dempster outscored Mills to reach the landmark and will thus go down as the first Kiwi batsman to score a Test century.
He ended up scoring more than 12,000 First Class runs at an average of 44.98 that included 35 centuries and 55 half-centuries.
India: Lala Amarnath
In what was his debut match, Lala Amarnath came out all guns blazing against a potent English attack as he easily looked the best Indian batsman at display.
Scoring runs aggressively courtesy his positive intent, Amarnath went on to register India's first three-figure score in Test match cricket.
India, who played their debut Test at Lord's in 1932, hosted England in their second Test, at the Bombay Gymkhana in December 1933.
For a country fighting for independence from the same British against whom Amarnath scored a century, his effort was received as a moral win for the revolting Indians, even though their rulers comfortably won the match.
He challenged the domination of the sport by the princely classes which also resulted in a shortened career. A great servant of Indian cricket, Lala Ji did justice to whatever role he took up, from team manager to coach to selector.
He is survived by his three sons, two of whom (Mohinder and Surinder Amarnath) represented India in Test cricket and the third (Rajinder Amarnath) also a former First Class cricketer.
Pakistan: Nazar Mohammad
In the second match at Lucknow, Pakistan opener Nazar Mohammad, who is also the first Pakistani cricketer to face a ball in tests, carried his bat during his 124 run effort as India lost by an innings' margin.
After being carved out of India in 1947, Pakistan had their first tryst with Test cricket in 1952 when they toured India. After succumbing to a huge defeat in their maiden Test played at Delhi, the arch-rivals came together to return the favour.
India went on to win the 5-Test series 2-1 and those were the only 5 matches that Nazar Mohammad played for Pakistan.
Sri Lanka: Sidath Wettimuny
In what was his country's third Test, Wettimuny displayed immense batting skill as he ended up with a memorable 157 against his name.
A gritty opening batsman with solid technique, right-handed Sidath Wettimuny created history when he became the first Sri Lankan player to score a Test century, in a Test match against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1982.
He represented Sri Lanka in 23 Tests and 35 ODI's, amassing 1221 and 786 runs in the respective formats.
Wettimuny has also served the sport as a match referee and as a selector for his nation's cricket team.
Zimbabwe: Dave Houghton
In this match played against India in 1992 at the Harare Sports Club, Houghton batted brilliantly for his 121 run knock that helped Zimbabwe salvage a draw.
Captain of Zimbabwe in their maiden Test appearance, Dave Houghton wrote his name in golden letters of Zimbabwe's cricket history when he scored his country's maiden Test century in their very first outing (second man to do so after Charles Bannerman).
In many ways, Houghton's effort resembled that of Bannerman's more than hundred years ago as this is the only instance after 1877 when a nation playing their maiden Test did not end up on the losing side.
A cricketing genius, he was a complete batsman, equally good at playing pace and spin and batting according to the team's requirement. His highest score of 266 is a record for the highest Test score by a Zimbabwean player.
Bangladesh: Aminul Islam
The first innings total was built on the back of valuable contributions, none more than that of Aminul Islam who stayed at the crease for close to nine hours for his 145 runs.
The right-hander stroked 17 boundaries en route his achievement. Bangladesh made their entry into Test cricket against India in 2000 in a match played at Dhaka.
The story of their Test debut was a contrasting tale of two innings, as they scored 400 in the first but got bundled out for a meager 91 in the second, handing the Indians an easy victory.
Aminul, who turned superstar overnight amongst Bangladeshi fans for his magnanimous effort, could not ever replicate such success as he managed just 385 more runs in his entire career of 13 matches.
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