Shreyas Iyer's makes it a dream debut !

At Kanpur, today Tim Southee delivered one of the great Test-match spells by a visiting fast bowler in India to drag New Zealand back into the Kanpur Test, before Will Young and Tom Latham put on a resolute and unbroken 129 to ensure all four results were still in play after two engrossing days and this young man basked in glory !! 

Sometimes some get things easily – during previous tour Cheteswar Pujara’s presence in team was questioned @ at the same time, Ajinkya Rahane is hailed as future and groomed as Captaincy material.  Here is pure statistics of his performance in year 2021 :  22,4 (Sydney); 37, 24 (Brisbane); 1,0 (Chennai); 67,10 (Chennai); 7, dnb (Ahmbd); 27 (Ahmbd); 49,15 (Southampton); 1,61 (Lords); 18,10 (Leeds); 14,0(Oval) and 35 today at Kanpur – 2>50s in 20 innings  !!!  

At Lords – in July 2021 -  Test no. 2422  Devon Conway basked  in glory at Lords after joining a long list of 111 players –  there were 15 of them who have made it for India at that time.  ‘Century on debut’ – Conway garnered more glory. 

AT Kanpur   there were two debutants – one had been around since 2017, having played 22 ODI / 813 runs including a century  & 32 T2oI/ 580 runs  -  Shreyas Santosh Iyer.    In Feb 2015, Iyer was signed in the 2015 IPL players auction by the Delhi Daredevils for 2.6 crores! Becoming  the highest-earning uncapped player in the tournament. He scored 439 runs in 14 matches, with a 33.76 average and a strike rate of 128.36, making Iyer the 9th most consistent player and Emerging Player of 2015 IPL.  In the 2020 season, he continued as the captain for Delhi Capitals and he also led them to their maiden IPL final against the Mumbai Indians.   He missed the half season of IPL 2021 due to an injury in his left Shoulder while playing for India in the first   ODI series against England but made successful comeback within a span of 6 months of Delhi Capitals.  

Yesterday he was unbeaten on 75* - and today went on to join the list of :  Lala Amarnath; RH Shodhan; AG Kripal Singh; Abbas Ali Baig; Hanumant Singh; Gundappa Viswanath; Surinder Amarnath; M Azharuddin; Pravin Amre; Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina; Shikhar Dhawan; Rohit Sharma & Prithvi Shaw.  Now reading this list, can you tell – who was the first Indian to make a century on debut as also the Second Indian to do so ?

The first batsman to achieve this feat was Charles Bannerman playing for Australia against England in the very first test in Mar 1877 – scoring 165*

One may be interested ! to read that: Lala Amararnath; RH Shodhan; AG Kripal Singh; Abbas Ali Baig; Hanumant Singh; Surinder Amarnath; Pravin Amre; Suresh Raina; & Prithvi Shaw did not add any after that solitary start. (Shaw is still playing and possibly would score more !).  Gundappa Vishwanath scored 14; Azharuddin 22; Prince Sourav Ganguly 16; Virender Sehwag 23; Dhawais still playing and possibly would score more !).  Gundappa Vishwanath scored 14; Azharuddin 22; Prince Sourav Ganguly 16; Virender Sehwag 23; Dhawan 7 and Rohit Sharma 8 (more waiting to come!) and Rohit Sharma 8 (more waiting to come!)

Now if you had answered the Q at the start.  The first and second Indians to score a century on debut is none from that list of 15 starting from Lala Amarnath.

The senior Nawab of Pataudi, Iftikhar Ali Khan, is the only Test cricketer to have played for both England and India. Educated at Aitchison's College, Lahore and Balliol College, Oxford, he made the England squad for the 1932-33 Bodyline series.  Though he scored a century on debut (the Second Indian to make a century on debut), he was dropped after the next Test, apparently because he disagreed with the tactics of Douglas Jardine, and returned home before the end of the tour.  That was Test no. 220 at Sydney in Dec 1932.  He played for England against Australia. 

The first Indian to score a century on debut was KS Ranjit Sinhji. Ranji, an Indian prince, was probably one of the finest batsmen of all time, not only in terms of runs scored but also because he brought new strokes to the game  He arrived at Cambridge in 1891 (where he acquired the nickname "Smith") never having played an organised game and won a Blue in his final summer. After serving his qualification, he marked his debut for Sussex at Lord's in May 1895.  He made his debut at Manchester in July 1896 playing for England against Australia scoring 62 and 154 not out.  

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
26.11.2021.

PS: the same Q I had put earlier too !!