Rohit Sharma couldn't have asked for more. Having made his debut for India in the
shorter form of the game six years back, Rohit had to endure a long wait for
his Test debut. He came very close to wear Indian Test cap, but as luck would
have it did not get it. In fact Rohit would have made his Test debut against
South Africa at Nagpur in February 2010 itself, but twisted his ankle on the
morning of the Test and Bengal’s wicketkeeper-batsman Wridhiman Saha made his
debut as a specialist batsman as no one else was available to take Rohit’s
place.
When
he finally got his chance, Rohit grabbed it with both hands and ensured there
is no looking back now. Coming in to bat with India reeling at 82 for four (soon
it became 83 for five) is hardly the kind of score for a debutant to start his
innings. But Rohit had been in sublime form having scored a double century in
ODIs in his previous outing. Only 13 Indians had accomplished the feat of
scoring a century on Test debut before Rohit and only four of them had done so
batting at number six or lower in the order. Soon Rohit also joined this
exclusive club. In doing so he became the first Indian to score a century on
Test debut against West Indies.
After
putting in to shade
Suresh Raina’s record of highest score by an Indian debutant at number
six, Rohit established an all-time record at this position by a debutant. But
just when he looked set for a double ton, Rohit’s innings was cut short by a
questionable umpiring decision. His 177 is
the second highest score by an Indian in his very first Test innings after
Shikhar Dhawan’s 187 against Australia at Mohali earlier this year and seventh
highest individual score by a player batting for the first time in Test
cricket.
Indian batsmen scoring a
hundred on Test debut
|
Player
|
Inns1
|
Inns2
|
Vs
|
Venue
|
Season
|
|
Lala
Amarnath
|
38
|
118
|
Eng
|
Bombay Gym
|
1933-34
|
|
Deepak
Shodhan
|
110
|
DNB
|
Pak
|
Calcutta
|
1952-53
|
|
AG
Kripal Singh
|
100*
|
DNB
|
NZ
|
Hyderabad
|
1955-56
|
|
Abbas
Ali Baig
|
26
|
112
|
Eng
|
Manchester
|
1959
|
|
Hanumant
Singh
|
105
|
23
|
Eng
|
Delhi
|
1963-64
|
|
Gundappa
Viswanath
|
0
|
137
|
Aus
|
Kanpur
|
1969-70
|
|
Surinder
Amarnath
|
124
|
9
|
NZ
|
Auckland
|
1975-76
|
|
Mohammad
Azharuddin
|
110
|
DNB
|
Eng
|
Calcutta
|
1984-85
|
|
Pravin
Amre
|
103
|
DNB
|
SA
|
Durban
|
1992-93
|
|
Sourav
Ganguly
|
131
|
DNB
|
Eng
|
Lord's
|
1996
|
|
Virender
Sehwag
|
105
|
31
|
SA
|
Bloemfontein
|
2001-02
|
|
Suresh
Raina
|
120
|
DNB
|
SL
|
Colombo
SSC
|
2010
|
|
Shikhar
Dhawan
|
187
|
DNB
|
Aus
|
Mohali
|
2012-13
|
|
Rohit
Sharma
|
177
|
DNB
|
WI
|
Kolkata
|
2013-14
|
DNB = Did not bat
Highest scores in very first Test innings
|
Score
|
For
|
Vs
|
Venue
|
Season
|
|
|
‘Tip' Foster
|
287
|
Eng
|
Aus
|
Sydney
|
1903-04
|
|
Jacobus Rudolph
|
222*
|
SA
|
Ban
|
Chittagong
|
2002-03
|
|
Mathew Sinclair
|
214
|
NZ
|
WI
|
Wellington
|
1999-00
|
|
Lawrence Rowe
|
214
|
WI
|
NZ
|
Kingston
|
1971-72
|
|
Brendon Kuruppu
|
201*
|
SL
|
NZ
|
Colombo CCC
|
1986-87
|
|
Shikhar Dhawan
|
187
|
Ind
|
Aus
|
Mohali
|
2012-13
|
|
Rohit
Sharma
|
177
|
Ind
|
WI
|
Kolkata
|
2013-14
|
|
Hamish
Rutherford
|
171
|
NZ
|
Eng
|
Dunedin
|
2012-13
|
|
Yasir
Hameed
|
170
|
Pak
|
Ban
|
Karachi
|
2003
|
|
Khalid
Ibadulla
|
166
|
Pak
|
Aus
|
Karachi
|
1964-65
|
Highest individual
scores at # 6 on Test debut
|
Batsman
|
Runs
|
For
|
Vs
|
Venue
|
Season
|
|
Rohit Sharma
|
177
|
Ind
|
WI
|
Kolkata
|
2013-14
|
|
Doug Walters
|
155
|
Aus
|
Eng
|
Brisbane
|
1965-66
|
|
Michael Clarke
|
151
|
Aus
|
Ind
|
Bangalore
|
2004-05
|
|
Mark Waugh
|
138
|
Aus
|
Eng
|
Adelaide
|
1990-91
|
|
Bryan Valentine
|
136
|
Eng
|
Ind
|
Bombay Gym
|
1933-34
|
|
Kane Williamson
|
131
|
NZ
|
Ind
|
Ahmedabad
|
2010-11
|
Highest individual
scores at # 6 on Test debut
by Indians
|
Batsman
|
Runs
|
Vs
|
Venue
|
Season
|
|
Rohit Sharma
|
177
|
WI
|
Kolkata
|
2013-14
|
|
Suresh Raina
|
120
|
SL
|
Colombo SSC
|
2010
|
|
Virender Sehwag
|
105
|
SA
|
Bloemfontein
|
2001-02
|
|
Pravin Amre
|
103
|
SA
|
Durban
|
1992-93
|
|
VVS Laxman
|
51
|
SA
|
Ahmedabad
|
1996-97
|
Rohit was involved in a
280-run partnership for the seventh wicket with R Ashwin. This is the second
highest partnership involving an Indian debutant. The details:
Indian
batsmen involved in a double century partnership on debut
|
Runs
|
Wkt
|
Vs
|
Venue
|
Season
|
Partner
|
|
|
Shikhar Dhawan
|
289
|
1st
|
Aus
|
Mohali
|
2012-13
|
Murali Vijay
|
|
Rohit Sharma
|
280
|
7th
|
WI
|
Kolkata
|
2013-14
|
R Ashwin
|
|
Suresh Raina
|
256
|
5th
|
SL
|
Colombo SSC
|
2010
|
Sachin Tendulkar
|
|
Virender Sehwag
|
220
|
5th
|
SA
|
Bloemfontein
|
2001-02
|
Sachin Tendulkar
|
|
M Azharuddin
|
214
|
5th
|
Eng
|
Kolkata
|
1984-85
|
Ravi Shastri
|
|
Surinder Amarnath
|
204
|
2nd
|
NZ
|
Auckland
|
1975-76
|
Sunil Gavaskar
|
With
India winning the Test by an innings and 51 runs, Rohit now has the distinction
of featuring in an innings win on Test debut. Only a handful of Indians have
accomplished this feat. Mohammed Shami also appears in this short list:
Indian players part
of an innings win on Test debut
|
Player
|
Performance
|
Match
|
Result
|
|
Nari Contractor
|
16
|
vs NZ, Bombay, 1955-56
|
Inns & 27 runs
|
|
Vijay Mehra
|
10
|
||
|
Sadashiv Patil
|
14*; 1-36 & 1-15
|
||
|
Vijay Yadav
|
30; 2 st & 1 ct
|
vs Zim, Delhi, 1992-93
|
Inns & 13 runs
|
|
Nayan Mongia
|
44; 2 ct, 1 st & 2 ct
|
vs SL, Lucknow, 1993-94
|
Inns & 119 runs
|
|
Ishant Sharma
|
1-19 & 0-30
|
vs Ban, Mirpur, 2007
|
Inns & 239 runs
|
|
Pragyan Ojha
|
1*;2-37 & 2-36
|
vs SL, Kanpur, 2009-10
|
Inns & 144 runs
|
|
Mohammed Shami
|
1; 4-71 & 5-47
|
vs WI, Kolkata, 2013-14
|
Inns & 51 runs
|
|
Rohit Sharma
|
177
|
It
will not be out of context to mention that Rohit made his Test debut after
having appeared in 108 one-day internationals. He thus became the first player
ever to make his Test debut after appearing in more than 100 one-day
internationals. Rohit wrested the record from fellow team-mate Suresh Raina,
who had appeared in 98 ODIs before making his Test debut (vs Sri Lanka in
2010).
Most ODIs before
playing a Test
|
Player
|
For
|
Mts
|
Runs
|
Avg
|
Wkts
|
Avg
|
Ct/St
|
|
Rohit Sharma
|
Ind
|
108
|
3049
|
36.73
|
8
|
56.25
|
36
|
|
Suresh Raina
|
Ind
|
98
|
2379
|
37.17
|
6
|
51.50
|
44
|
|
Andrew Symonds
|
Aus
|
94
|
2044
|
36.50
|
72
|
34.85
|
42
|
|
Adam Gilchrist
|
Aus
|
76
|
2376
|
33.94
|
0
|
-
|
92/18
|
|
Yuvraj Singh
|
Ind
|
73
|
1644
|
31.02
|
23
|
34.22
|
23
|
|
Shahid Afridi
|
Pak
|
66
|
1526
|
25.02
|
41
|
54.32
|
22
|
|
Robin Singh
|
Ind
|
60
|
998
|
26.97
|
41
|
38.63
|
13
|
|
Virat Kohli
|
Ind
|
59
|
2153
|
43.94
|
0
|
-
|
27
|
|
Ravindra Jadeja
|
Ind
|
58
|
860
|
28.67
|
57
|
38.42
|
21
|
|
Gavin Larsen
|
NZ
|
55
|
337
|
19.82
|
40
|
45.25
|
8
|
|
Praveen Kumar
|
Ind
|
52
|
256
|
14.22
|
62
|
33.68
|
11
|
