KL Rahul’s patience, Shubman Gill’s flair leave Afghanistan chasing shadows as India end on 368/3 on Day 1

India’s KL Rahul, left, celebrates his century with captain Shubman Gill (PTI Photo) Shubman Gill and KL Rahul produced centuries in contrasting styles as India dominated the opening day of the one-off Test against Afghanistan, finishing with a brilliant 368 for 3 to take firm control of the contest.While Rahul relied on patience, discipline and textbook defense to put together a 100 off 165 balls, skipper Gill dazzled with his pull play and fluidity, remaining unbeaten on 103 off 143 deliveries. The duo took different approaches but achieved the same result in beating an Afghanistan attack struggling to contain India’s batting depth.Gill’s innings looked effortless for long periods. The Indian skipper combined elegance with authority, hitting 11 fours and a straight six en route to his 11th Test hundred in just 41 matches. His ability to find boundaries without taking unnecessary risks made the innings seem almost like training.Sai Sudharsan’s impressive 81 off 104 balls further underlined India’s dominance. The left-hander looked set for a maiden Test century after surviving two chances, one off Nangeyal Kharote’s left-arm spinner and another off pacer Ziaur Rahman. However, he fell short when Mohammad Saleem induced an edge behind the stumps.Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal departed for 24 after glancing at an innocuous delivery down the leg side, but Rahul and Sudharsan repaired the damage with a 139-run partnership. Rahul was given an early reprieve when Afghanistan failed a weak edge claim and took advantage of the opportunity to reach his 12th Test hundred with 11 boundaries.Just one ball after reaching the landmark, Rahul’s innings ended when he curiously drove at the cover fielder off Ziaur.The final over belonged to Gill and Rishabh Pant, whose unbeaten 121-run partnership left Afghanistan chasing shadows in the north Indian heat. Pant played with typical freedom, smashing three sixes in an unbeaten half-century off just 70 balls, while Gill continued to dictate terms with a mixture of classy drives and clever stroke rotation.In Afghanistan, Saleem was the most successful bowler with figures of 2 for 67, while Ziaur Rahman impressed despite returning just one wicket. The bigger concern was spin separation. With their frontline spinners unavailable, the onus fell on Kharote and Abdul Malik, but neither could trouble the Indian batting consistently.Kharote finished wicketless despite 20 overs, conceding 95 runs, while Malik also failed to make his mark. India didn’t launch an all-out attack but still piled on at a healthy pace, hitting 42 fours and four sixes on the day.With the pitch expected to offer more and more spin assistance, India are likely to bat only briefly on the second morning before looking to unleash their slow bowlers in an Afghanistan side already under immense pressure.