Youngest centurion in Test cricket

By Mohandas Menon

The long standing record since 1961, of being the youngest batsman to score a Test hundred at 17 years and 81 days by Pakistani Mushtaq Mohammad has now been bettered by Bangladeshi all-rounder Mohammad Ashraful while scoring a hundred in the second innings on his Test debut against Sri Lanka on the third day of the Asian Test Championship at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground at Colombo. Ashraful (born: July 7, 1984) was just 17 years and 63 days during his innings of 114. Incidentally, Ashraful was also the youngest to achieve this feat on debut obliterating the previous record of 17 years and 353 days by Zimbabwean Hamilton Masakadza against West Indies in July this year. Incidentally the previous youngest batsman to score a Test hundred against Sri Lanka was Pakistani Salim Malik who was 18 years and 327 days at Karachi in March 1982.

The youngest Test centurions: 17 yrs 63 days - Mohd. Ashraful (114) for Ban v SL at Colombo (SSC), September 2001; 17 yrs 81 days - Mushtaq Mohd. (101) for Pak v Ind at Delhi, February 1961; 17 yrs 111 days - Sachin Tendulkar (119*) for Ind v Eng at Manchester, August 1990; 17 yrs 353 days - Hamilton Masakadza (119) for Zim v WI at Harare, July 2001.

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