Prithvi Sho(a)w

Prithvi Shaw made history on Thursday by becoming the youngest Indian to score a Test century on debut.

New Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, all of 18 years and 329 days, making his Test debut for India against the West Indies in Rajkot, ran on to the field in the morning with the energy and hunger that only a teenager can have at the start of his career. It was there on show in Karachi in 1989 —when Sachin Tendulkar, then just 16, faced up to the finest pace attack in the world.

Prithvi Shaw became the youngest Indian to score a Test century on debut as he scored a fluent 134 against the West Indies in the first Test in Rajkot on Thursday. Shaw reached the historic three-figure mark off just 99 balls.

But you need more than that to do well in international Tests. Especially if you are an opening batsman making your debut, albeit against a set of bowlers who aren’t exactly as fearsome as Wasim Akram, Imran Khan and Waqar Younis, the trio Tendulkar faced.

But on an opening morning, with five catchers behind the wicket waiting for you to make a mistake, Shaw only needed to err once. That he didn’t signs him off as a special talent.

This post was published on October 5, 2018 5:42 pm