Lokesh Rahul got his name registered in record books after he smashed a brilliant century in only his first game against Zimbabwe. The right-handed batsman from Karnataka became the first Indian to have scored a century on ODI debut.
Even the greatest Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar had to wait for 78 ODIs to get to his first century. The second highest run-getter for India in ODIs Sourav Ganguly’s first hundred also came after a long wait.
Rahul’s 100 (not-out) came against a weak side like Zimbabwe but the authority with which he batted spoke volumes of the innings.
Let us look at the other Indian players who held the record for highest scores on debut:
Manish Pandey (71 runs)
Manish too made his debut against Zimbabwe last year and scored a decent half-century in that game. His match-winning knock of 71 runs included 4 fours and 1 six. Early this year, the talented KKR batsman scored his first ODI ton to help India win their only match in the 5-match ODI series.
Navjot Singh Sidhu (73 )
Navjot Singh Sidhu could not have asked for a batter debut. It was Australia against India in the year 1987 and the stadium was Chepauk. He smashed 4 fours and 5 sixes against a top-class Australian bowling attack. His score of 73 runs came off just 79 balls which was considered a quick knock in those days.
Brijesh Patel (82 runs)
In a star-studded batting line-up which boasted of Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath, Brijesh Patel had to make a statement through his batting. He did just that in his first match when he scored 82 runs in just 78 balls.
Robin Uthappa (86 runs)
After his grand performance in U19 cricket, Robin Uthappa was selected in India’s ODI squad against England as Virender Sehwag was rested for that series. Robin took the opportunity in both hands and thrashed the English bowlers all over the park. He made 86 runs and missed out an opportunity to score a century on his ODI debut.
