Virat Kohli is on the verge of joining Test legends Greg Chappell and Viv Richards on 24 centuries.
Kohli ended day one of the first Test against the West Indies at Rajkot on 72 not out off 137 balls. The current top-ranked Test batsman hit just four fours in his innings, which came at a cautious strike rate of 52.55 runs per 100 balls as India looked to build on the excellent start to the innings provided by Prithvi Shaw and Cheteshwar Pujara.
The pair added 206 runs for the second wicket after the first-over loss of KL Rahul for a duck. The partnership ended when Pujara fell for 86 off 130 balls (14 fours), caught behind off the bowling of 22-year-old West Indian debutant Sherman Lewis.
Shaw went on to score a remarkable 134 off 154 balls, with 19 fours, in the process becoming the youngest player to score a Test century on debut for India, and the fourth youngest in history.
Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane added a sedate 105 for the fourth wicket before the former fell for 41 off 92 balls (five fours). Rishabh Pant then joined Kohli in an undefeated 37-run stand for the fifth wicket, Pant ending on 17 off 21 balls (one four, one six) as India ended the day on 364-4 off 89 overs.
The West Indies bowlers toiled hard all day, with debutant Lewis picking up the best figures of the day (1-56), while Shannon Gabriel (1-66), Roston Chase (1-67) and Devendra Bishoo (1-113) each picked up a single wicket.
Youngest centurions on Test debut
Batsman | Age | Opponents |
Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh) | 17 years, 61 days | Sri Lanka, September 2001 |
Hamilton Masakadza (Zimbabwe) | 17 years, 352 days | West Indies, July 2001 |
Saleem Malik (Pakistan) | 18 years, 323 days | Sri Lanka, March 1982 |
Prithvi Shaw (India) | 18 years, 329 days | West Indies, October 2018 |
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