Fastest hundred by a batsman on Test debut

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan (India) compiled an 85-ball hundred in the 3rd Test between India and Australia in Mohali, India, on 16 March 2013. Dhawan’s knock, which featured a staggering 21 boundaries (84 runs), eclipsed the previous fastest century by a Test debutant, set when Dwayne Smith (West Indies) struck a 93-ball ton against South Africa on 6 January 2004. Dhawan went on to make 187 runs at an unprecedented Test match strike rate of 107.47 (runs scored per 100 balls faced) for a centurion’s completed innings, and his 289-run stand with Murali Vijay was the highest first-wicket partnership in Test matches between India and Australia. India duly won the match by six wickets for an unassailable 3-0 lead in the four-match series. Dhawan’s innings of 187 was the highest score by an Indian batsman on Test debut, surpassing Gundappa Viswanath’s 137 against Australia in Kanpur, India, in November 1969. (The highest ever score on Test debut was Reginald “Tip” Foster’s 287 for England against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground on 12 and 14 December 1903.)

Dhawan’s 289-run partnership with Vijay was also the third highest opening stand for India in their Test match history.