Yashasvi Jaiswal made his highly anticipated Test debut in the first match of the series against West Indies. The 21-year-old was selected for the Test side based on his impressive domestic season and his excellent performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Rajasthan Royals. Jaiswal lived up to the hype, scoring a magnificent 171 runs in India’s first innings. He faced 387 deliveries and hit 16 boundaries and 1 six.
Also read: Top 5 Indian bowlers’ best Test performances in the West Indies
His 229-run opening partnership with Rohit Sharma left the hosts clueless. Although he was eventually dismissed by Alzarri Joseph, Jaiswal’s exceptional effort will be celebrated for a long time. Indian fans will hope that this is just the beginning of many more such innings from Jaiswal.
Jaiswal is not the first left-handed batsman to impress on his Test debut. Several other lefties have made a grand entrance at the Test level, and Jaiswal’s performance is another testament to the talent that left-handers bring to the game.
Sourav Ganguly-131 (Lord’s, 1996
Sourav Ganguly, one of India’s greatest captains, made his Test debut in a match against England in 1996 and announced himself in style by scoring a magnificent century. He scored 131 runs off 301 deliveries, including 20 boundaries, and shared crucial partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Jadeja.
His knock helped India score 429 runs, taking an 85-run lead in the process. Although the match ended in a draw, Ganguly’s phenomenal effort will always be remembered.
Suresh Raina-120 (Colombo, 2010)
Suresh Raina made a grand entrance into the Indian Test side by scoring a century on his debut against Sri Lanka in 2010. Although he didn’t establish himself in the Test side, his knock of 120 runs was impressive. Raina shared a massive 256-run partnership with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar during the match.
He hit 12 boundaries and two sixes during his innings. Despite batters finding it easy to score runs, bowlers struggled to pick up wickets, and the match ended in an inevitable draw.
Shikhar Dhawan-187 (Mohali, 2013)
In his Test debut for India against Australia in Mohali in 2013, Shikhar Dhawan opened the batting with Murali Vijay and the two put on a record-breaking partnership of 289 runs for the first wicket.
Dhawan’s innings saw him score 187 runs off 174 balls, with 33 fours and two sixes. He reached his century off just 85 balls, the fastest by an Indian on his Test debut. India managed to score 499 runs in the first innings, thanks to his magnificent innings, and went on to win the match by 91 runs.
Dhawan was recently dropped from the Indian ODI team, however, he led the Punjab Kings in the IPL, where he performed well.