Mumbai: England’s South African-born batsman Keaton Jennings made it a debut to remember as he scored a brilliant century against India in the fourth Test in Mumbai on Thursday.

The tall left-hander brought up his ton mid-way through the afternoon session on his 186th ball with a four from an audacious reverse sweep, his third of the day.

Jennings was only called up to the squad after Haseeb Hameed picked up an injury in the third Test.

The 24-year-old failed to score off his first 11 balls at Wankhede Stadium before settling in at the crease with some expert shot-making.

Jennings and captain Alastair Cook enjoyed a partnership of 99. He then outlasted number three batsman Joe Root, who could only muster 21 runs.

Jennings — who was born in Johannesburg and captained the South African under-19 team — hit 12 fours during his century run.

He became the latest South African-born English cricketer to score a ton on their international Test debut.

Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior both made centuries in their first outings while Jonathan Trott reached three figures in the second innings of his Test debut.

Jennings, whose mother is English, moved to England in 2011 after leaving school, committing himself to four years there so he could become eligible to play for the national side.

Jennings, whose father Ray played for South Africa during the apartheid era, decided to switch allegiance to further his career, in a similar move to Kevin Pietersen in the early 2000s.

Players who were born abroad are eligible to play for England after spending four years in English county cricket, a policy that has attracted controversy in some quarters.