India have unveiled a new superstar ahead of their tour of Australia with 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw scoring a century on Test debut.
Shaw has become the youngest Indian since the great Sachin Tendulkar to score a Test century, and the youngest Indian to score a century on Test debut, hammering the West Indies in the first Test in Rajkot.
The teenager was handed his cap by Virat Kohli before play and quickly got going against an inexperienced Windies attack.
Shaw, who at the age of 18 and 329 days is India's youngest Test debutant since Ishant Sharma in 2007, struck seven fours in bringing up his half-century from just 56 deliveries.
He went to lunch unbeaten on 75 and continued to fire after the break, reaching a memorable hundred from just 99 balls.
It's the third fastest 100 on debut in Test history, while Shaw is the 15th Indian to reach the milestone in his first Test.
The knock has all but secured Shaw's spot for India's Test tour of Australia this summer, starting in Adelaide on December 6th.
India confirmed on Wednesday they would field their youngest Test debutant in more than a decade, with Shaw opening alongside KL Rahul after Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, who opened for India in the recent five-Test series in England, were dropped following modest returns in that 4-1 defeat.
Shaw has long been pegged for a career at the top level and has earned multiple comparisons with Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar.
He scored 188 against West Indies A in England in July, his sixth first-class century from just 12 matches, and added a score of 136 against South Africa A last month. He averages 56.72 from 14 first-class matches overall.
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