India Dominates Day 1 of Test Match Against Afghanistan
India's Strong Start in One-Off Test
On Saturday, India's top-order batting lineup showcased their skills on the first day of the one-off Test against Afghanistan at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.
Sai Sudharsan, who recently excelled with the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026, continued his impressive form by scoring 81 runs while batting at number three. His selection for this position over Devdutt Padikkal, who had an outstanding domestic season with Karnataka, proved to be a wise choice as Sudharsan delivered a significant performance, falling just 19 runs short of a century.
He formed a solid partnership of 139 runs for the second wicket with veteran opener KL Rahul, who remained not out at 81, supported by nine boundaries. Sudharsan's innings ended when he was caught behind by Afsar Zazai off the bowling of Saleem Safi in the 43rd over. Following his dismissal, captain Shubman Gill came to the crease and ended the second session unbeaten on 20, contributing to India's strong position at 209/2.
Earlier in the match, India opted to bat first after winning the toss but lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for 24 runs, who managed to hit five fours in his brief 32-ball innings.
Debut Highlights
In this match, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar made his Test debut for India, while Afghanistan introduced Nangyeyalia Kharote to their lineup. Notably, India featured six left-handed batsmen in their playing XI, marking only the third instance of such a composition, following both Tests against South Africa last year.
Playing XIs
Here are the playing XIs for the one-off Test match between India and Afghanistan:
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Afsar Zazai (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangyeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, Mohammad Saleem Safi.