Shaw hammers century on Test debut for India

India have unveiled a new superstar ahead of their tour of Australia with 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw scoring a century on Test debut.

Shaw has become the youngest Indian since the great Sachin Tendulkar to score a Test century, and the youngest Indian to score a century on Test debut, hammering the West Indies in the first Test in Rajkot.

The teenager was handed his cap by Virat Kohli before play and quickly got going against an inexperienced Windies attack.

Shaw, who at the age of 18 and 329 days is India's youngest Test debutant since Ishant Sharma in 2007, struck seven fours in bringing up his half-century from just 56 deliveries.

He went to lunch unbeaten on 75 and continued to fire after the break, reaching a memorable hundred from just 99 balls.

It's the third fastest 100 on debut in Test history, while Shaw is the 15th Indian to reach the milestone in his first Test. 

The knock has all but secured Shaw's spot for India's Test tour of Australia this summer, starting in Adelaide on December 6th.

India confirmed on Wednesday they would field their youngest Test debutant in more than a decade, with Shaw opening alongside KL Rahul after Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, who opened for India in the recent five-Test series in England, were dropped following modest returns in that 4-1 defeat.

Shaw has long been pegged for a career at the top level and has earned multiple comparisons with Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar.

He scored 188 against West Indies A in England in July, his sixth first-class century from just 12 matches, and added a score of 136 against South Africa A last month. He averages 56.72 from 14 first-class matches overall.

He captained India to the Under-19 World Cup title earlier this year and was also their leading run-scorer, but it's the way he scores his runs as much as his ability to post big scores that has earned him comparisons to the legendary Tendulkar.

"The first thing you notice is his technique, it's very similar to Sachin Tendulkar," former Australia batsman Mark Waugh said earlier this year.

"His grip, his stance, he stays very still at the crease and plays all his shots around the wicket. He plays the ball quite late and is quite punchy in his stroke play and has an excellent base to play any shot from any bowler.

"He's just so much like Sachin Tendulkar."

Shaw also broke through for his maiden List A centuries this year; he scored 132 in a tour match against English county side Leicestershire in June before notching 102 against West Indies A a week later and posting 129 in a domestic game for Mumbai just two weeks ago.