First day of the match in the name of Team India. (Photo- PTI)
IND vs AFG Test: The first day of the only Test match being played against Afghanistan in Mullanpur, Chandigarh was completely in the name of Team India. Afghanistan’s bowlers looked helpless in front of the dominance of Indian batsmen. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, the Indian team made a big score of 368 runs by the end of the first day’s play, losing 3 wickets. Two brilliant centuries were seen on the first day of the match, which has put India in the driving seat. At the same time, a lot of mistakes were seen from Afghanistan’s side.
Scored 2 centuries on the first day
The start of the Indian innings in this match was not special and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal became the victim of Mohammad Salim after scoring only 24 runs. But after this the Afghan team had to wait a long time for the wicket. KL Rahul along with Sai Sudarshan, who came at number 3, handled the innings. Rahul batted brilliantly and scored 100 runs. However, he was caught by Ziaur Rahman on the very next ball after completing his century. There was a strong partnership of 139 runs for the second wicket between Rahul and Sudarshan.
Young batsman Sai Sudarshan also played a very composed innings. He hit 13 fours around the ground, but missed his first Test century and was out on a personal score of 81 runs. After Sudarshan’s dismissal, captain Shubman Gill came to the crease and batted responsibly. Gill did not let his grip on the match loose and completed the 11th century of his Test career in just 138 balls. Till the end of the day’s play, Gill remained at the crease after scoring 103 runs.
Rishabh Pant also hit fifty
Rishabh Pant also batted amazingly in the last session of the day. As soon as he came, he put pressure on the Afghan bowlers and hit 3 skyscraper sixes in his innings. By the end of the game, Pant returned unbeaten on 50 runs and made a strong unbeaten partnership with captain Gill for the fourth wicket.
Afghanistan’s mistakes cost dearly
On the first day of the match, three big mistakes were seen from Afghanistan’s side, which cost them dearly. Afghanistan dropped one catch each from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudarshan, which cost them dearly. Whereas, KL Rahul was caught out even before scoring a century. But the umpire did not give out and Afghanistan did not even take DRS, due to which KL Rahul managed to play a big innings.
