Indian batsmen who scored century on their Test debut

New Delhi: Charles Bannerman became the first player to achieve this when he scored 165 not out against England during the first ever Test match, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877. For India, 12 players have scored a century in their debut match. Shikhar Dhawan became the 13th Indian to do so on Saturday (March 16), and that too the highest.Unlike the 12 batsmen before him, Dhawan etched his name in the record books by scoring three figures in 85 balls, thus becoming the fastest debut centurion of all time, as well as becoming India's most successful batsman on Test debut.Here we bring the 12 players who scored a century on their Test debut for India: Lala Amarnath, 118 He was the first cricketer to score a Test century for the Indian cricket team, which he achieved on debut. He was also independent India's first Test captain, leading the team on a tour of Australia in 1947-1948.He played his debut match against England in 1933 on the Bombay Gymkhana grounds in South Bombay. Deepak Shodhan, 110 Shodhan was a left hand batsman and occasional medium pace bowler. He was the second Indian batsman, after Lala Amarnath, to score a hundred on Test debut. He was selected against Pakistan on the weight of the 89* that he scored for West Zone against the Pakistanis earlier in the tour.At Calcutta in a curious Indian innings where every batsman reached double figures, Shodhan scored 110 batting at No.8 .A. G. Kripal Singh, 100* Picked for the series against New Zealand, he scored 100* on his debut. That was to remain his only Test hundred. He scored two other fifties, one a defiant 53 against West Indies in 1958/59.A finger injury severely limited his appearances. Though he remained within the sight of the selectors, his Test appearances became thereafter. Abbas Ali Baig, 112 Abbas Ali Baig played in 10 Tests from 1959 to 1966. He was named one of Indian Cricket 's five Cricketers of the Year for 1959/60.He holds the record for the most runs scored in a first-class match for Oxford University: playing against Free Foresters at The University Parks in 1959, he scored 221 not out in the first innings and 87 in the second for a total of 308.Hanumant Singh, 105 He made his Test debut in the 4th Test against England at Delhi in February 1964, scoring 105 and so becoming the fifth Indian to make a Test century on debut, emulating Lala Amarnath, Deepak Shodhan, AG Kripal Singh and Abbas Ali Baig.Gundappa Viswanath, 137 He played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983 making 91 appearances and scoring over 6000 runs. He also played in One Day Internationals from 1974 to 1982 including the World Cups of 1975 and 1979.On his Test match debut, he scored a century against Australia at Kanpur in 1969 in a drawn match. He also recorded a duck in the same game, one of only three batsmen to have done this in their first match.Surinder Amarnath, 124 Amarnath was an aggressive left-handed batsman who performed extremely well at Indian domestic level but was largely unable to cement a regular place in the Indian national team. He played only 10 Tests and 3 ODIs for his country.He scored a century on his Test debut against New Zealand in January 1976.Mohammad Azharuddin, 110 He was an accomplished batsman and captained the Indian cricket team for much of the 1990s, until being banned for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal.Azhar scored a final total of 22 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 45, and 7 in ODIs at an average of 37.He has the unique distinction of scoring a century in each of his first three Tests – a feat unmatched till date.Pravin Amre, 103 He represented the Indian cricket team between 1991 and 1994. He played 11 Test matches scoring one century and three half-centuries at an average of 42.50.Amre made his ODI debut against South Africa at Kolkata in November 1991, scoring a half-century. His Test debut came exactly one year later against the same team at Durban, scoring a century. In the event, he became the ninth India player to achieve this feat. Sourav Ganguly, 131 Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. Ganguly got his big-break while playing for India on their tour of England. He scored 131 runs and cemented his place in the Indian team. Virender Sehwag, 105 Affectionately known as Viru and the Nawab of Najafgarh, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team.Sehwag made his Test debut in late 2001 in the First Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein as a middle-order batsman. He scored 105 on debut despite the South African win. He was given a one match suspension by ICC match referee Mike Denness for overappealing.Suresh Raina, 120 He is an attacking left-handed middle-order batsman and an occasional off-spin bowler. Raina made his ODI debut in 2005 against Sri Lanka at the age of 18. However, his Test debut came only five years later, in 2010, against the same opposition. He went on to reach a century on debut.He is the only Indian player to have scored a century in all formats of international cricket.