Gill, Rahul will deliver a dose of Test reality to Afghanistan as India dominate in Mullanpur

Brief scores: India (368/3 in 85 overs) vs Afghanistan at stumps on Day 1. Gill (103*), Rahul (100)

IND VS AFG 1ST TEST DAY 1: MAIN | SCORECARD

When Afghanistan played their first Test against India in 2018, the match was over in two days. Twelve Tests later, Afghanistan received another dose of reality in red-ball cricket as KL Rahul’s hundred and Shubman Gill’s 103 not out enabled India to post 368 for three at stumps in Mullanpur on the first day of the One Test.

Sai Sudharsan took his chance at No.3 and scored 81 runs as Rishabh Pant and Gill ensured the hosts finished the day on top and piled the pressure on Afghanistan. Hasmatullah Shahidi and his side were made to pay for several DRS calls and indisciplined bowling, with the Indian batsmen given many chances to survive.

Mohammed Saleem picked up two wickets and Ziaur Rahman one, but there wasn’t much for the visitors to cheer about on a hot and tiring day in Mullanpur.

RAHUL DRIVES HIS LUCK

India won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision Shahidi also said he would have made. But the first hour of the match showed that the Afghan bowlers bowled with purpose and a strict plan.

When it came to Yashasvi Jaiswal, they planned to stuff his space and try to get him to swing the ball to the leg side. For KL Rahul, the plan was to make him play on the forward and offensive side. The visitors had success as the Indian opener struggled to find a rhythm, especially Rahul.

The Indian opener went through two first overs in the first five overs. Jaiswal presented Afghanistan’s first chance to capitalize on it and they botched it before a big cheer from Shahidi.

In the 11th over, Rahul played a cut shot and the fielders and keeper seemed convinced that it was an advantage. Shahidi looked confused while Rahul acted as a bad guy in the film saying that he did nothing wrong.

Ultraedge revealed that there was indeed a nick, the afghan fielders are collapsing to the ground.

They soon had reason to cheer when Jaiswal returned to the pavilion, but Rahul was ready to make them pay.

He found the company of Sai Sudharsan and the two men were tasked with stabilizing the ship. Sudharsan was coming in after a strange end to his IPL campaign with several wickets dismissed. He has been in a tougher spot in Test cricket as questions have arisen about him being a long-term No.3.

Once Gautam Gambhir decided to give him the long rope, Sudharsan looked like a different player. The IPL 2026 run where he scored 722 runs certainly helped, but it looked like he would be more confident in batting.

He also got a reprieve in the 19th over when an edge went past the fielders. Sudharsan and Rahul ensured that India went into the lunch break on 104.

By then the track was seeing a bit of uneven bounce with many deliveries going low. In the middle, they had a little help from the puller.

In the second and third sessions, however, the goal began to level out. Signs of this were evident in the first over after the break as Rahul hit two boundaries and raced to forty.

Sudharsan got to his fifty with a hat-trick of boundaries and started being the aggressor in the partnership. Rahul was more conservative in his approach while Sudharsan started flexing his muscles.

Afghanistan were once again dogged by wasted chances as the keeper let a half chance slip away. The southpaw looked set for a big score and got a few more boundaries.

But in the end, Afghanistan got within one as the partnership between Rahul and Sudharsan ended on 131, but the damage was done.

GILL CONTINUES TO DOSE HIS AUTHORITY

It was evident that India missed Gill a lot during their series loss to South Africa. A neck spasm would disrupt his momentum. It would affect him in the T20I format as well, which ended with him being dropped from the T20 World Cup squad.

IPL 2026 was a perfect storm for the Indian skipper as he scored 732 runs. It was only a few weeks ago in Mullanpur that he scored a sensational hundred that took his side to the IPL final.

Gill started with some beautiful moves and survived the leg before appealing against him. Right after the tea break he started with a majestic six and then boundaryd Omarzai.

Rahul was crushing runs at this point and the boundary helped him reach 97. A single and a double were enough for Rahul to get his centurybut another ball dropped.

Gill started shifting gears and hit a hat-trick of boundaries to get to his fifty and there was no looking back after that.

The boundary helped him reach 1000 runs as a captain, the second fastest to do so after Sunil Gavaskar in 15 innings. Rishabh Pant announced his presence on the field with three sixes against Abu Malik as Afghanistan looked to limit the flow of runs.

Gill and Pant began to wear down the Afghan fielders with their batting and heat as India quickly crossed the 350 mark. Gill reached his hundred with a single.

It was his sixth century as captain, showing that he neither feels the pressure of captaincy nor scoring at No. 4. By the end of the final session, India had reached 159 runs from 35 overs in the final session and Pant had also reached his fifty.

AFGHANISTAN LEARNED A HARD LESSON

Before the match, the Afghanistan coach said that the ICC should allow them to play more Tests. It allows them to grow and it was something they needed at this time. Afghanistan have done well in other formats and beaten some big names, but Test cricket continues to be a bit off the charts.

There were a few missed and half-chances they should have kept that could have left the home side under the pump. At times it seemed like bowling plans were all over the place and body language was breaking down in the Mullanpur heat.

Abdul Malik bowled a total of four no balls and two big chances which he dropped, allowing Jaiswal and Sudharsan to escape. The biggest moment was the Rahul catch call where Shahidi was supposed to go and take the recommendation.

It could have been a different story if he had continued with it. Now they will need a cold shower, a good night’s sleep and new plans for the next day. Otherwise, it could be a short game for them again against India.

– The end

Published on:

June 6, 2026 5:06 PM IST