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Dhawan's 101-ball 100 fastest by an Indian vs Bangladesh

June 10, 2015 19:43 IST

Shikhar DhawanShikhar Dhawan has now scored fastest hundreds by an Indian against two opponents. On his Test debut, vs Australia at Mohali in 2012-13, he got to the three-figure mark off just 85 balls.

Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay put India in the driver’s seat on the opening day of the one-off Test against Bangladesh, in Fatullah, on Wednesday.

The pair added 239 runs without being separated for 56 overs.

- Scorecard

Dhawan was the more flamboyant of the two, had no hesitation in taking his chances and scored briskly. For a while he looked set to achieve the rare feat of scoring a hundred before lunch on the first day of a Test.

Only four players -- Australia’s Victor Trumper, Charles Macartney and Don Bradman; and Pakistan’s Majid Khan -- performed the feat.

But rain did not allow the left-handed opener to have a go at the record. When play resumed after a long rain-break, Dhawan was again in his elements. He played a few dot balls at 98, but reached his hundred with a boundary.

It took him just 101 balls to get to hundred, which makes it the fastest century by an Indian against Bangladesh.

It’s a bit surprising that despite the presence of players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, it was Gautam Gambhir who held the previous record of fastest hundred for India against Bangladesh.

The Bengal batsman needed 118 balls to get to the landmark at Chittagong in 2009-10.

Dhawan has now scored fastest hundreds against two opponents. On his Test debut (vs Australia at Mohali in 2012-13), he got to the three-figure mark off just 85 balls, the fastest by an Indian batsman against Australia.

It is interesting to see which Indians scored the fastest hundred against each Test-playing country.

The accompanying table has the details:

Fastest hundreds for India against each country

Opponent Balls Batsman Venue Season
Australia 85 Shikhar Dhawan (187) Mohali 2012-13
England 86 Kapil Dev (116) Kanpur 1981-82
South Africa 74 M Azharuddin (109) Calcutta 1996-97
West Indies 78 Virender Sehwag (180) Gros Islet 2006
New Zealand 105 Harbhajan Singh (111*) Hyderabad 2010-11
Pakistan 93 MS Dhoni (148) Faisalabad 2005-06
  93 Virender Sehwag (254) Lahore 2005-06
Sri Lanka 74 Kapil Dev (163) Kanpur 1986-87
Zimbabwe 138 Vinod Kambli (227) Delhi 1992-93
Bangladesh 101 Shikhar Dhawan (150*) Fatullah 2015

Image: Shikhar Dhawan

Photograph: Getty Images

Rajneesh Gupta