Indian domestic sensation Prithvi Shaw was the star of the show in his maiden outing as he helped India recover from the early dismissal of KL Rahul, notching up his century in the first Test against West Indies at Rajkot.
The Under-19 winning captain was in fine form, smashing 15 fours as he raced away to a hundred in 99 balls, to become the 15th player from the country to score a ton on debut. It was also the third fastest Test knock on debut by any player after Shikhar Dhawan's 85-ball ton against Australia and Dwayne Smith's 93-ball century against South Africa way back in 2004.
After being called up to the squad for the last two Tests, Shaw had to warm the benches even as the Indian team persisted with the opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Rahul. However, the continued poor form of the Delhiite in red-ball cricket meant that he was ousted from the fifteen-member squad that would face Windies. It allowed the teenage youngster to find a spot in the final XI, which was seized effortlessly by Shaw.
Though Shaw, the second youngest Test centurion from India after Sachin Tendulkar, has played only 14 First-class matches, an average of 56.72 and seven hundreds with a high score of 188 displays the immense talent that the player is bestowed with.
After a glorious run of form with India A in England, the 18-year-old was called to the national side in United Kingdom but had to wait for two matches before he finally received his Test cap.
A partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara, who had also made his fifty in the match, ensured that the Indian team were able to tide over the initial jitters to send West Indies on the backfoot.
Here are the best tweets that came in after Shaw reached his maiden century.
Test Cap No. 293: @PrithviShaw's dream come true moment ?#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/cPMiR1tLwW
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 4, 2018
This was Prithvi Shaw in 2011. Today, he makes his debut for India. Inspirational rags to riches story. pic.twitter.com/HhftZcDUXF
— Aditya (@forwardshortleg) October 4, 2018
Request to Indian media Don't hype prithwi shaw so much.let him get comfortable in taking responsibilities.
— ...?... (@CrickFreak_rd) October 4, 2018
Most imp let him perform overseas first that too against good bowling attack.
Congratulations @PrithviShaw for memorable debut Ton.?#INDvWI
Celebrations near #PrithviShaw 's residence in Mumbai after the batsman scored a 100 on debut in the first test against the West Indies #INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/yVXYQRkun7
— ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2018
He came, he Shaw, he conquered ???#PrithviShaw
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) October 4, 2018
Prithvi Shaw makes a century on his debut. #IndvWI pic.twitter.com/UTfxUnvwYY
— Bollywood Gandu (@BollywoodGandu) October 4, 2018