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A total of 10 Indian batters have scored their maiden Test century in Australia, with Nitish Kumar Reddy being the latest one joining the list on Saturday, December 28.
Indians to score maiden Test century in Australia. (Picture Credit: AFP, AP)
Nitish Kumar Reddy dominated the third day’s play of the ongoing fourth India-Australia Test match in Melbourne and scored a stunning century. After coming out to bat at No. 8 for the Rohit Sharma-led side in the Boxing Day Test, Reddy faced a total of 176 balls, and with the help of 10 fours and one six, scored 105 runs on Saturday, December 28. The 21-year-old right-handed batting all-rounder from Andhra Pradesh crossed the triple-figure mark for the first time in Test cricket for India on the 171st ball of his inning, which was bowled by Scott Boland.
By scoring a century in his fourth red-ball match, Nitish became the 10th Indian cricketer in history to score his first Test century in Australia.
Here’s a complete list of Indian cricketers to score their first Test century in Australia:
116 by Vinoo Mankad, Melbourne 1948
Vinoo Mankad was the first Indian batter to score his maiden Test century in Australia. He achieved the feat during the India-Australia match played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from January 1 to 5 in 1948. Mankad opened the innings for the Lala Amarnath-led side and, with the help of 13 fours, scored 116 runs from 187 balls. His effort, however, went in vain as Don Bradman-led Australia defeated India by 233 runs.
116 by Vijay Hazare, Adelaide 1948
Legendary Vijay Hazare scored his maiden Test century for India in the first inning of the Adelaide Test against Australia, which was played from January 23 to 28 in 1948. The right-handed batter scored 116 runs from 303 balls, and in the second innings as well, he scored a century (145 runs from 372 balls). Hazare was the first Indian to score two centuries in a Test match played on Australian soil.
123 by Dattu Phadkar, Adelaide 1948
Dattu Phadkar also scored a century in the first innings of the India-Australia 1948 Adelaide Test. Dattu batted at No. 7 for the Lala Amarnath-led side in that match and, with the help of 15 fours, scored 123 runs from 284 deliveries.
100 by Mohinder Amarnath, Perth 1977
Mohinder Amarnath, who is the son of legendary Indian cricketer Lala Amarnath, scored his first Test century for India in 1977. During the second innings of the India-Australia Test played at WACA in Perth from December 16 to 21, Mohinder scored 100 runs from 175 balls as a No. 3 batter.
174 by Sandeep Patil, Adelaide 1981
Sandeep Patil’s first Test century for India (174 runs from 240 balls; 22 fours, 1 six) was against Greg Chappell’s Australia during the match played at Adelaide Oval from January 23 to 27 in 1981.
116 by Kris Srikkanth, Sydney 1986
Former India opening batter Kris Srikkanth’s first triple-digit score in Test cricket came during the 1986 New Year Test played between India and Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground from January 2-6. The right-handed batter hammered 116 runs from 117 balls with the help of 19 fours and one six.
167 by VVS Laxman, Sydney 2000
VVS Laxman scored his maiden Test century for India against Australia in Sydney. During the 2000 New Year Test played at Sydney Cricket Ground, Laxman opened the innings for India in the second innings and scored 167 runs from 198 balls.
116 by Virat Kohli, Adelaide 2012
Virat Kohli scored his first Test century in the 2012 Adelaide Test that was played from January 24 to 28. Kohli scored 116 runs from 213 balls in the first innings of that match but failed to help India avoid the defeat and series whitewash.
110 by KL Rahul, Sydney 2015
KL Rahul made his Test debut for India in Melbourne on December 26, 2014, and in the next match, which was played at SCG from January 6-10 in 2015, he scored 110 runs in the first inning. Rahul opened for India, and during his 262-ball stay at the crease, he hammered 13 fours and one six.
105* by Nitish Reddy, Melbourne 2024
21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy scored his maiden Test century for India on Saturday, December 26, against Australia at MCG. He came out to bat at No. 8, and during his 176-ball stay at the crease, he has slammed 10 fours and one six.