KL Rahul and Shubman Gill complete superb centuries as India dominates with the bat against Afghanistan
India – 368/3 (KL Rahul 100, Shubman Gill 103*, Rishabh Pant 50*)
The test match between India and Afghanistan in New Chandigarh began with Shubman Gill winning the toss and having no hesitation in batting first. India had handed bowling all-rounder Manav Suthar his debut on this pitch, and judging by the way the pitch played, it may have been the right call.
There was some early swing on offer, but as the pitch soon flattened out in the sweltering sun, it gave way to low and slow spin. India appears to have gotten the best of the batting conditions and, after a relatively challenging initial session, got into a groove and went from strength to strength.
Afghanistan did themselves no favours as the inexperienced bowling lineup failed to put sustained pressure, and on rare occasions when the batsmen made a mistake, they failed to capitalise, either with their fielding or their decision-making. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill both scored centuries while Rishabh Pant was unbeaten on an even 50. A wicket in each session kept Afghanistan from being completely demoralised, but with a first-day score of 368/3, India would definitely be the happier side.
Just a few days from playing their respective IPL matches, Indian openers Yashaswi Jaiswal and Rahul took some time to gather their bearings. There was some swing on offer on the new ball, and the bowlers Ziaur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai did their best to make the batsmen uncomfortable. Rahul followed a few plays and misses inside edging almost on to his stumps, but just escaping. Even Jaiswal was fortunate to edge one past gully for a boundary.
In between, Rahman had Rahul feathering a wide delivery to the keeper, but the umpire did not hear the nick. After a lot of vigorous argument amongst themselves, Afghanistan chose not to take a review, a decision that would haunt them for the rest of the day.
Jaiswal was the more fluent of the two openers, as he caressed a couple of straight hits to the long off boundary and also played a few good-looking cover drives for four. Seemingly more assured than his opening partner, he was strangled down the leg side by a short ball from Mohammad Saleem to be caught by the keeper. Saleem, with his extra pace, brought some menace to the bowling and looked the most likely bowler to pick up a wicket.
The wicket brought India’s designated no. 3 Sai Sudharsan to the crease. The pitch had relatively eased up and the early morning swing had disappeared in the sweltering heat. He offered a half chance at first slip on 20 off Nangeyalia Kharote, but it was put down. Both spinners, Kharote and Abdul Malik, bowled some decent deliveries, but were generally either too full or too short to exert any pressure on the scoring. As the day went on and tiredness crept in, it got much worse for the Afghan bowlers.
Sudharsan, a predominantly leg-side player, peppered the region from deep square leg to long on, on-driving, flicking and sweeping his way to 32 off 49 balls by the first session. Rahul, after the initial struggle, was also looking increasingly comfortable, and had reached 37 in 70 balls by the end of that session. India was 96/1 and looking to press on the early advantage.
The second session started with Afghanistan starting with spin, and with a more defensive mindset. Rahul, set now, was either stepping out and hitting the spinners, or staying back and cutting them towards the deep backward point boundary. He reached his 50 off 86 balls and was followed shortly by Sudharsan, who reached his half-century off 67 balls. Just to prove a point, Sudharsan then played a couple of exquisite cover drives, one off Kharote and next off Ziaur Rahman, but the very next ball, he edged one past the keeper for another boundary.
However, after a couple of delightful on-side strokes, he again edged a fuller one from Saleem to be caught by the wicketkeeper for a stroke-filled 81 off 104 balls. A wonderful player, Sudharsan may need to tighten up his off-side game if he wants to succeed in SENA conditions. So far, he has looked the part, but tougher tests await him.
Shubman Gill strode in as the next batsman, and under good batting conditions, immediately started to time the ball like a dream. He survived two close LBW calls, but was safe both times. At Tea, he was on 20 off 28 and Rahul on 81 off 137, and India was looking good at 209/2.
By the start of the third session, the Afghanistan bowlers were starting to wilt under pressure, and both Gill and Rahul made full use of it. Gill even stepped out and launched Kharote over the long off boundary for the first six of the innings. At the other end, Rahul, cutting and driving the bowlers, reached his century with a lovely flick off 164 balls.
Critics have often wondered how a batsman of KL Rahul’s obvious quality has an average of around 35. Lesser batsmen have averaged more, and been more successful. Apart from his perceived inconsistency, and the unfortunate start of his career coinciding with some of the toughest overseas tours on some of the most bowler-friendly pitches in the last few decades, his century conversion has not been of the highest order. Virat Kohli has 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. In contrast, Rahul has 12 centuries to his 20 half-centuries. And out of his last five centuries, the second highest score is 101.
All players go through bad patches. The best players invariably capitalise on their good form. For Rahul, lack of ‘Daddy Hundreds’ has been a hindering factor. A player of Kane Williamson’s calibre may go through a series without a fifty, but would make up for it with a blockbuster series soon after. For Rahul, though, a great series would end with an average of maybe 60s or high 50s.
While some may deem it to be unfair to compare Rahul to some of the best in the business, it must be kept in mind that Rahul is in fact good enough to be compared to them. He has made runs in the toughest of conditions and often looked the best batsman on the field full of world-class players.
So, despite the century, it was disappointing to see Rahul throw it all away next ball with an airy drive to short extra cover. A wonderful century, but even his captain Gill could not hide his disappointment at the other end.
Gill, though, continued with his brilliant form and played some glorious shots through the off side to reach his half-century in 68 balls. A couple of exquisite cover drives, intercepted by some graceful flicks later, he soon reached his century in 138 balls. As elegant as he looked, it all came far too easily, and Afghanistan would be wary of what he might accomplish on the second day.
Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, was coming off a poor IPL season. This, however, was his best format and he started very tentatively. The 66th over bowled by Abdul Malik, exclusively bowled to Pant, was quite fascinating.
A caught behind appeal was deemed to have been a no-ball. Another no-ball later, a caught and bowled attempt appeared to have been dropped. At 7 off 21 balls, Pant had had enough and next over off Abdul, he stepped out and hammered one over the long-on boundary for a six. A full toss and another half-tracker were meted out the same treatment over approximately the same area, and Pant was on his way. A single on the last over got him to his fifty off 70 balls.
Afghanistan bowlers bowled well in patches, but did not have the consistency to put pressure on the Indian batsmen, who batted with relative freedom. With seven wickets remaining and Gill and Pant looking to capitalise on the conditions, Afghanistan may have a long day ahead of them unless there is some drastic improvement.