Josh Inglis cracks robust century to become 1st player after Shikhar Dhawan to notch this massive milestone

Josh Inglis celebrated a record-breaking Test debut for Australia, smashing a century in a mere 90 balls on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka. His explosive innings contributed to a dominant batting performance by the visitors, who chose to bat first after winning the toss.

Prior to the Sri Lanka series, Australia made a strategic decision to move Travis Head up the batting order to open, a position he hadn't regularly filled before. This promotion was based on his strong performances in subcontinent conditions during the 2023 tour of India.  As a result of this change, Sam Konstas was dropped from the team, and Josh Inglis filled the vacant middle-order batting spot.  With Alex Carey retaining the wicketkeeping gloves, Inglis played as a specialist batsman.

Josh Inglis's arrival at the crease, following a substantial 266-run partnership between Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja, only compounded Sri Lanka's difficulties. The 29-year-old quickly made his mark, becoming the third Australian batsman to reach a century in the innings, pushing their total past the 600-run mark.

Josh Inglis's century was a record-breaking feat, making him the second-fastest centurion on Test debut, trailing only Shikhar Dhawan's 85-ball century against Australia in Mohali in 2013.  Inglis is the first player since Dhawan to achieve a century in 90 balls or fewer in their debut Test innings. He joins an exclusive club of just four players in Test history to reach the hundred-run mark in under 100 balls in their maiden Test appearance.

List of batters with fastest centuries on Test debut:

Josh Inglis's also became the first Australian player in ten years to score a century on their Test debut, following Adam Voges's century against the West Indies in 2015.