India dominated the proceedings with the bat on Day 1 of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh. Opting to bat first, opener KL Rahul set the tone of the day with his charismatic shotmaking as the cricketer eventually registered his 12th century in the longest format of the game. It wasnโt easy for him to change his gameplay after spending two months playing T20 cricket, but the Karnataka-born adjusted well and after the game, Rahul shared that he wasnโt shy to bat aggressively at times.
โI did feel the urge to play a few shots and I don’t think it is a bad thing. It’s something I have been telling myself as well. Sometimes you sit and overanalyse. I try and not to restrict my shots. I played a few shots in the morning than I would usually do, but it didn’t frustrate me,โ Rahul said after the end of Day 1.
Former cricketer Graeme Swann analysed the difficulty to bowl to Rahul in the longest format of the game, especially for a team that doesn’t have enough experience in red-ball cricket.ย
“As soon as the spinners overpitched, Rahul was happy to hit over the top, which is a nightmare for any spin bowler. As a bowler, you want someone who simply pats it back all day, and then you hope to get the odd one to turn and create an opportunity. Rahul is not the ideal batter to bowl to in your first Test match; he will take you on if you err in your line or length,” Swann said on JioStar’s Cricket Live.
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His opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal departed scoring 24. After which, Rahul stitched a 139-run partnership with Sai Sudharsan. Batting at three, the Chennai-born wasnโt a guaranteed starter in the match, as Devdutt Padikkal looked the favourite to feature in the playing XI. However, the team management backed Sudharsan, who missed his maiden Test century by 19 runs.
After he walked back to the pavilion, Shubman Gill dictated the play, registering his 11th century in Test cricket. The India captain never looked under any sort of pressure and was comfortable in dealing with everything that the visitors had planned. The 26-year-old ended the day on an unbeaten 103 and playing at his home ground, Gill will be eyeing to double it up on Day 2 of the Test.
Rishabh Pant returns to form
KL Rahulโs dismissal brought Rishabh Pant to the crease. The keeper-batter struggled in the entire IPL 2026 and eventually, he relinquished as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants. He was under tremendous pressure leading up to the Test, but Pant was all class in the middle, ending the day on unbeaten 50. He hit three sixes so far in the innings and will be hoping to keep up with the momentum tomorrow.
Afghanistan, in the meantime, need to pick some quick wickets to script a comeback in the match. India finished the day on 368/3 and if the visitors fail to put the hosts under any sort of pressure on Sunday morning, they could very well drift away from the contest.ย
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