Centuries by KL Rahul and Shubman Gill propelled India to a dominating score of 368 for 3 at close on the opening day of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh. The opening day of the one-off Test was completely dominated by Rahul’s patient hundred and Gill’s fluent unbeaten century as they ensured the hosts were with a firm grip on the match despite some early plucky resistance from Afghanistan’s pace attack.

Shubman Gill, the captain of India won the toss on a hot port with temperatures hovering around 40°C and opted to bat. The conditions offered early movement and uneven bounce for Afghanistan’s seamers Mohammad Saleem and Azmatullah Omarzai, who exploited those to good effect in the first session.

Rahul had an uneasy start to his innings and survived a huge let-off at the very outset, when Afghanistan did not review caught-behind appeal while he was on 16. It was a lucky break for the Indian opener as replays later confirmed there had been an edge.

The batting, particularly that of Yashasvi Jaiswal, started in a positive manner but he could not convert his start into a BIG score. The left-hander was out for 24 after edging Saleem behind on the cusp of his first Test cap, giving the Afghan pacer his first wicket in the format.

As time wore on and the ball lost its zip, B Sai Sudharsan also dug in well to score freely with a few lovely strokes during his 81. He shared a key 131-run partnership with Rahul to steady the innings. But just as a maiden Test hundred edged closer to his grasp, Sudharsan was magnificently caught behind by wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai off Saleem.

Rahul showed immense discipline to anchor the innings. He sifted through some tough moments, but hit his 12th Test century. The determined knock of his ended shortly after his century when he was caught at short extra cover for a precisely 100.

After this, Gill has been on his own as far as the scoring is concerned. The Indian captain took the loose balls apart and showed his full range of shots while gradually taking India to a competitive total. His not out hundred included 11 boundaries and a six as he required only 88 balls for his 11th Test century.

Rishabh Pant was the one to entertain us towards the end in that final session. Pant started off slow, but once he got used to the speed of the pitch, began to tear into the spinners in his 50th Test. She hit 3 sixes and it was a short knock from the keep-batter who scored 50* runs off 70 balls.

Although Afghanistan’s bowlers made inroads at various junctions of the day, they squandered crucial chances. India finished the opening day strongly as Gill and Pant remained at the crease, well set to help India past 500 on day two – this may prove a costly miss.