CRICKET – India’s KL Rahul and Shubman Gill scored centuries against Afghanistan yesterday as the home side batted into a dominant position and ended the opening day of the one-off Test on 368-3.
India, playing their first Test versus Afghanistan since hosting the visitors in their first-ever Test in 2018, won the toss and opted to bat at the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh.
The match came after a quick turnaround for many of India’s players from their Indian Premier League campaigns, with several members of the national team having played in last week’s final, and some signs of rust were evident in the early stages.
The openers struggled for fluency in the opening session and Rahul was handed a major reprieve in the 11th over when a clear edge went unreviewed by the visitors, despite vociferous appeals from fielder Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Replays later confirmed Rahul would have been dismissed, and the 34-year-old made the most of his lifeline, combining for a 139-run partnership with Sai Sudharsan after opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed by Mohammad Saleem for 24.
That partnership ended when Saleem took his second wicket, getting Sudharsan out for 81 with a delivery that carried through to wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai, who took a superb diving catch.
Rahul then featured in a 67-run third-wicket partnership with captain Gill, who contributed 39 runs and helped see his teammate to a 12th Test century.
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