While he couldn’t convert his debut hundred into a double ton, the left-handed batter did register the third highest score by an Indian on Test debut. Jaiswal is only behind Shikhar Dhawan (187 vs Australia in 2013) and Rohit Sharma (177 vs West Indies in 2013) among Indian batters who have notched up tons on Test debut.
Jaiswal entered the record books for a few other reasons as well. The 17th Indian player to score a hundred on Test debut, he is the third Indian opener to slam a ton on Test debut after Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw, who scored 134 against the West Indies in Rajkot in 2018. However, while Dhawan and Shaw scored their hundreds at home, Jaiswal became the first India opener to notch up three figures on debut in an overseas Test.
Overall, he is the seventh Indian batter to score a debut century in an away test. Suresh Raina, who made 120 against Sri Lanka in 2010, was the previous batter to do so. Jaiswal’s 171, however, is now the highest score by an Indian on Test debut in an away game. The previous record stood in the name of Sourav Ganguly, who scored a famous 131 against England at Lord’s in 1996.
During his innings in Dominica, Jaiswal also broke the record for most balls faced by an Indian on Test debut. While the 21-year-old faced a total of 387 deliveries, the previous record was held by former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin, who faced 322 balls for his 110 against England in Kolkata in 1984-84. Ganguly and Rohit faced 301 balls each in their Test debut hundreds.
Meanwhile, India declared their first innings in Dominica at 421/5. After Jaiswal’s departure, Ajinkya Rahane also perished cheaply for 3 off 11 balls. However, Virat Kohli scored a hard fought 76 off 182 balls, a knock which included only five fours. Ravindra Jadeja was unbeaten on 37 and debutant Ishan Kishan on 1 when India declared their innings in response to West Indies’ first-innings total of 150.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
