On this day: Shikhar Dhawan enters record books with historic ton

Prior to 2016, only four batsmen had managed this particular feat in Test cricket’s vast history. By 2018, the number swelled to six. On this day in 2018, Shikhar Dhawan became the sixth batsman to score a century before lunch on the first day of a Test match.

A historic setting

This Test match in Bangalore was special even before the first ball was bowled. This encounter was Afghanistan’s first foray in Test cricket. They became the 12th nation to play this elite format. India’s stand-in captain, Ajinkya Rahane, won the toss and chose to bat first.

Dhawan gets going

Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan opened the innings for India. Dhawan got off the mark on the first ball he faced and cracked two boundaries in the second over. The early introduction of off-spinner Mohammad Nabi helped the left-hander’s cause as he smashed him for a six over his head by stepping down the wicket.

Afghanistan sought to wrest the momentum back by bringing their best bowler, Rashid Khan into the bowling attack. Dhawan welcomed his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate with three boundaries in an over. The batsman brought up his fifty in just 47 balls

Record beckons

Dhawan continued his charge against Rashid. He recorded a sequence of 4,6,4 against the leggie and pressed further. Three consecutive boundaries against Mujeeb-ur-Rehman took the opener to 96 from just 86 balls. He received the strike on the fifth ball of Rashid Khan’s over which he aptly drove through the offside to bring up his century. The Delhi-batsman thus became the first Indian to score a century before lunch on day one. Lunch was taken after another over was bowled.

That’s it from Day 1 of #TheHistoricFirst here at Bengaluru. #TeamIndia 347/6 at Stumps as @ACBofficials bowlers try to claw their way into the Test towards the end of the day. Join us for Day 2 action tomorrow #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/hC6S8E1Gu4

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 14, 2018

A foregone conclusion

Dhawan fell for 107 while his partner M Vijay contributed 105 runs on his own. India totalled 474 which proved 262 runs more than what Afghanistan could muster in both their innings. However, it was more about the event than the result.