New Chandigarh, June 6 (IANS) India overcame a testing opening session to reach 96/1 in 25 overs at Lunch on Day 1 of the one-off four-day Test against Afghanistan, with KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan guiding the hosts through a disciplined spell from the visitors’ bowlers.

After electing to bat, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 24 but were steadied by an unbeaten 55-run stand between Rahul (37 not out) and Sai (32 not out), who survived a dropped catch to take the hosts to a position of relative comfort by the interval.

Afghanistan’s seamers made the Indian batters work hard on a surface offering occasional movement and variable bounce. Ziaur Rahman Sharifi and Azmatullah Omarzai maintained probing lines in the opening hour, preventing India from scoring freely despite Jaiswal finding a few boundaries early on.

Jaiswal, playing positively whenever the bowlers erred in length, struck five fours in his 32-ball 24-run knock. However, he enjoyed a slice of luck on 11 when a thick outside edge flew through the cordon before eventually falling to Mohammad Saleem Safi. Attempting to glance a delivery down the leg side, Jaiswal got a faint edge through to wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai, handing Afghanistan their first breakthrough with India on 41.

Rahul, meanwhile, endured a scratchy start and was fortunate to survive on 16 when Afghanistan opted against reviewing a caught-behind appeal off Sharifi. Replays later suggested there had been an edge, leaving the visitors ruing a missed opportunity.

The experienced right-hander gradually settled in, finding boundaries off Sharifi, Saleem Safi and later spinner Nangeyalia Kharote, though he never looked entirely fluent during the morning session.

Sudharsan, meanwhile, began cautiously before growing in confidence. The left-hander collected boundaries through well-timed flicks and drives, showing composure against both pace and spin. Afghanistan had another opportunity to strike when Sai edged Kharote towards first slip, but wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz reacted late and could only get his fingertips to the chance.

Afghanistan introduced spin before lunch through debutant Kharote and Abdul Malik, with the former extracting some turn and bounce to challenge the Indian batters. However, Rahul and Sai negotiated the threat effectively and ensured there were no further setbacks.

While India will be pleased to have lost only one wicket, Afghanistan may feel they missed a chance to make deeper inroads after squandering two key opportunities in the session. The visitors will look to make amends in the post-lunch session as Rahul and Sai aim to convert their starts into substantial scores.

Brief Scores: India 96/1 in 25 overs (KL Rahul 37 not out, Sai Sudharsan 32 not out; Mohammad Saleem Safi 1-27) against Afghanistan.

–IANS

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