India vs West Indies: 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw becomes fourth-youngest to score Test century on debut

Shaw's sensational innings, laced with nineteen boundaries, was cut short by the Caribbean spinner Devendra Bishoo, who caught and bowled the Mumbai lad in the final over before the tea.

Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw bats during the first day of the first cricket test match between India and West Indies in Rajkot, India, Thursday, October 4, 2018. | AP

On Thursday, 18-year-old opening batsman Prithvi Shaw, while making his Team India debut against the visiting West Indian side in the first Test match at Rajkot, scored 134 runs in 154 balls on day one, thereby becoming the fourth-youngest to score a debut ton in the game's longest format.

Shaw's sensational innings, laced with nineteen boundaries, was cut short by the Caribbean spinner Devendra Bishoo, who caught and bowled the Mumbai lad in the final over before the tea at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

As per statistician Mohandas Menon, Shaw became India's second youngest opener after Vijay Mehra, who was 17 years 265 days old, while making his senior debut at Bombay's Brabourne Stadium against the Kiwis in December 1955.

The Mumbai lad now has the distinction of scoring a century on Ranji, Duleep and Test debuts.

Among Indians, only Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who was 17 years and 107 days old, when he made a ton against England at Manchester on August 9, 1990, got to three figures in Tests before Shaw.

Shaw joins 14 other Indians who have scored a Test century on debut and is the youngest in the list that also includes GR Vishwanath and Mohammad Azharuddin.

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif was among those left impressed by Shaw's showing:

This boy is class and a lambi race ka ghoda- Prithvi Shaw. So good to watch #IndvWI

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) October 4, 2018

Harsha Bhogle also tweeted his appreciation: "Such a beautiful moment for young Prithvi Shaw. Almost a child. Bats like he knows no fear. No inhibitions. This is a different generation!"

Here are the Indian batsmen with tons on Test debut:

Batsman	Innings	Opposition	Date
Lala Amarnath	118	England	15 December 1933
RH Shodhan	110	Pakistan	12 December 1952
AG Kripal Singh	100*	New Zealand	19 November 1955
AA Baig	112	England	23 July 1959
Hanumant Singh	105	England	8 February 1964
GR Viswanath	137	Australia	15 November 1969
S Amarnath	124	New Zealand	24 January 1976
M Azharuddin	110	England	31 December 1984
PK Amre	103	South Africa	13 November 1992
SC Ganguly	131	England	20 June 1996
V Sehwag	105	South Africa	3 November 2001
SK Raina	120	Sri Lanka	26 July 2010
S Dhawan	187	Australia	14 March 2013
R Sharma	177	West Indies	6 November 2013