Prithvi Shaw celebrates after scoring a century on debut

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Prithvi Shaw made his presence felt in his international debut as he struck a magnificent 134 to put India in complete control over the West Indies on the first day in Rajkot.

Shaw was brilliantly supported by Cheteshwar Pujara and India captain Virat Kohli, as they scored 86 and 72 not out respectively.

Opting to bat first, India made a horrible start to their innings as opener Lokesh Rahul was trapped lbw off the bowling of Shannon Gabriel for a duck on the sixth ball of the match.

Rahul decided to review the decision, but his gamble didn’t pay off as replays showed that the ball was pitching in line and going on to hit middle stump.

Shaw and Pujara made up for the loss of Rahul with a 206-run partnership, during which Shaw brought up his century and Pujara his half-century.

Cheteshwar Pujara scored his 19th Test fifty

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

With India cruising, the West Indies did everything possible to try and break Shaw and Pujara’s stand.

In the end, it was debutant Sherman Lewis who got the job done as he had Pujara caught behind for 86, which came off 130 balls and included 14 boundaries.

Shaw went on to score 134, which came off 154 deliveries and included 19 boundaries, before he was caught and bowled by Devendra Bishoo.

During his innings, Shaw became the seventh-youngest player to score a Test century, and the second-youngest Indian player to accomplish the feat after the iconic Sachin Tendulkar.

He is also the 15th Indian player to score a Test hundred on debut, while the 99 balls he took to reach the triple figure mark makes him the third-fastest to score a century on debut. The two players ahead of him are India’s Shikhar Dhawan and the West Indies’ Dwayne Smith, who needed 85 and 93 balls respectively.

Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane stabilised the innings with a 105-run partnership, during which Kohli surpassed his fifty, before Rahane was caught behind off the bowling of Roston Chase for 41.

Virat Kohli struck four boundaries during his unbeaten knock of 72

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Kohli and Rishabh Pant added 27 runs to the score before stumps was called.

Kohli finished on 72, which came off 137 balls and included four boundaries, while Pant remained undefeated on 17, which came off 21 deliveries and included a boundary and a six.

Gabriel, Lewis, Bishoo and Chase picked up one wicket apiece.

India ended day one on 364/4 and will continue batting on Friday at 09:30 local time or 04:00 GMT.