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Test cricket is the format that tests the patience of a batsman to a great extent. Any batsman who plays for the country wants to score as many runs as possible in an inning. Scoring a century is already a huge thing but scoring a century in the debut match is an unbelievable feat in itself. There have been some players who have started their careers with magnificent performances and have scored a hundred on debut. Most recently, 21-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal achieved that impressive feat for India. He also touched another record. Jaiswal became the third-highest individual run scorer on the Test debut for India. In this article, we'll list the players with the highest individual score on Test debut for India.
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Highest individual score on Test debut for India (Top 10)
1) Shikhar Dhawan – 187(174) vs Australia (2013)
Shikhar Dhawan went on to smash 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. He almost converted it to a double hundred but Nathan Lyon stopped him by doing so. Dhawan finished with 187 runs in only 174 deliveries with 33 fours and 2 mammoth sixes in the 3rd Test at Mohali.
2) Rohit Sharma – 177(301) vs West Indies (2013)
Rohit Sharma showed how mature of a player he is 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. The hitman ended with 177 runs in 301 deliveries but missed out on becoming the Indian player with the highest individual runs in the test format.
3) Yashasvi Jaiswal – 171(387) vs West Indies (2023)
Continuing from his brilliant form in the Indian Premier League, Yashasvi Jaiswal lived his dream debut on 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, 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. He became the third-highest individual run scorer on the Test debut for India.
4) GR Viswanath – 137 vs Australia (1969)
It wasn't really his debut innings, as in the first innings of the match, he went out for a duck. But Viswanath went on to play an impressive knock of 137 filled with 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)
Prithvi Shaw earned a maiden call-up into the test side after winning U-19 World Cup as a captain. He made that year a more memorable year as he played an exceptional knock of 134 off just 154 deliveries with the help of 19 fours. Prithvi Shaw became the youngest cricketer to hit a century on test debut, and for his outstanding innings, it helped India win the match. His record of being the youngest to score may remain the same for years to come.
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6) Sourav Ganguly – 131(301) vs England (2016)
Dada alongside Rahul Dravid stitched a really important partnership. Dravid, who too was on his debut, got dismissed for just 5 runs before reaching his maiden hundred. But Sourav Ganguly didn't let this chance go away as he went on to score the highest score on his test debut on the iconic stadium, Lord's venue with the help of 20 good boundaries. Dada went on to become 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)
The Indian team was trailing by 266 runs when Amarnath walked in. He and Sunil Gavaskar went on to play a part in a crucial partnership of 204. His brilliant knock of 124 including 16 fours and 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)
Suresh Raina's impressive 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. During the 2nd test at Colombo, Raina constructed a brilliant partnership with Sachin Tendulkar (203) as India put up 700 runs on the board. The match resulted in a draw.
9) Lala Amarnath – 118 vs England (1933)
The English attacking bowlers bowled out India for a low total of 219 in the first innings and Lala top-scored with a score of 38. 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 a score of 118 consisting of 21 fours.
10) Abbas Ali Baig – 112 vs England (1959)
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. England gave a mammoth target of 548 or to bat out two days. When the Indian loss was inevitable, then came a sensational knock from this youngster. He became the first overseas batsman to score a century on Test debut and was the youngest to do so.
