Rahmat Shah becomes Afghanistan's first Test centurion; maiden centurions of other nations

Rahmat Shah creates history to become Afghanistans first Test centurion — Rahmat Shah creates history to become Afghanistan's first Test centurion

Bengaluru, September 5: Rahmat Shah rocked back and cut Nayeem Hasan of Bangaldesh for a boundary through the short third man and the shot not only fetched four runs to the Afghanistan batsman but also launched him to the pages of history.

With that four, Rahmat Shah became the first man from Afghanistan to score a hundred in Test cricket. He had come so close to the mark against Ireland last month in Dehradun but missed it.

But this time Rahmat did not allow anything to come between him and a significant landmark. However, he was dismissed in the very next ball when his loose drive outstide off-stump off Hasan was snaffled by Soumya Sarkar at first slip. But by then, Rahmat had shook hands with history.

Here are other batsmen who made first Test hundreds for their respective countries.

1. Australia - Charles Bannerman

Bannerman was Australia's Test cap No 1 and participated in the first ever Test match held between England and Australia on March 15, 1877. A right-handed opener, he faced the first ball in Test cricket history. In all, he played three Tests and scored 239 runs at 59.75.

2. England - WG Grace

Considering the kind of records he made as a batsman, it was quite natural that WG Grace became the first Test centurion for England. He played 22 Tests for England and made 1098 runs at 32.29 with two hundreds and five fifties. But his first-class record is unrivalled, 54211 runs from 870 matches at 39.45 with 124 hundreds and 251 fifties.

3. South Africa - Jimmy Sinclair

Sinclair was an all-rounder who played 25 Tests for South Africa between 1986 and 1911 and he made 1069 runs 23.23 with three hundreds and as many fifties.

4. West Indies - Clifford Archibad Roach

Roach appeared in 16 Tests for West Indies between 1928 and 1935 scoring 952 runs at 30.70 with two hundreds and six half-centuries, and he was knows as an aggressive and stylish batsmen.

5. New Zealand - Stewie Dempster

Between 1930 and 1933, Dempster played 10 Tests for the Kiwis and made 723 runs at 65.72 with two hundreds and five fifties. Though the Second World War curtailed his Test career, Dempster made great impressions for Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Wellington in first-class cricket.

6. India - Lala Amarnath

Lala was Independent India's first Test captain and oversee India's first series win over Pakistan in 1952. He played 24 Tests for India and made 878 runs at 24.38 with a hundred. His sons Mohinder and Surinder too played for India in Tests and ODIs.

7. Pakistan - Nazar Mohammad

Nazar played five Tests for Pakistan within 1952 and all against India. He made a century in that series to become the first Pakistan batsman to score a Test hundred. He is the father of former Pakistan cricketer Mudassar Nazar, who played 76 Tests and 122 ODIs for Pakistan.

8. Sri Lanka - Sidath Wettimuny

In 23 Tests for Sri Lanka between 1982 and 1987, Wettimuny made 1221 runs with two hundreds at 29.07. His and Sri Lanka's first Test hundred came against Pakistan at Faislabad in 1982.

9. Zimbabwe - Dave Houghton

Houghton was a solid batsman played for Zimbabwe between 1992 and 1997 and in 22 Tests he amassed 1464 at 43.05 with four hundreds and as many fifties. His first hundred came against India at Harare in 1992.

10. Bangladesh - Aminul Islam

Aminul ‘Bulbul' Islam played 13 Tests for Bangladesh and made 530 runs at 21.20 with a hundred. His and his country's maiden Test hundred came against India at Dhaka in 2000.