IND vs AFG, Only Test, Day 1, Review: Centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay assert India's dominance despite late wickets

The much-awaited historic Test match finally got underway on Thursday in the presence of the ICC CEO David Richardson and also the Sports Minister of India Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. The 11 debutants of Afghanistan were handed with their caps as the proud players of a proud country stepped out on the field in whites for the first time. However, they endured a tough outing in the first couple of sessions before coming back stunningly in the final session.

The hosts won the toss and opted to bat first on a sunny morning and on a pitch which was looking good apart from a tinge of grass on a good length area. Shikhar Dhawan took full advantage of the conditions as he pummelled the new ball bowlers early on who failed to pitch the ball up more often. He was in the mood and in no time reached his half-century as well. The onslaught from him led to the spinners coming into the attack in the ninth over itself.

Mohammad Nabi was the one to begin the proceedings as he was treated harshly by the left-hander. Meanwhile, Murali Vijay struggled early and was saved at times as well as there was rustiness in his play which was understandable. But he too got into his groove after the first hour and started playing some delightful strokes. The first session witnesses as many as 158 runs scored as Dhawan reached the three-figure mark off just 87 balls. he was authoritative in his shots totally as the oppositions were presented with the harsh reality of the Test cricket.

Vijay joins the party

However, the second session brought an early joy to the fans of the visitors with the dangerous centurion walking back to the pavilion. Yamin Ahmadzai became the first ever Test wicket-taker for his country as Dhawan edged a wide delivery to the second slip who almost dropped it only for Nabi to get hold of it. But the joy didn’t stay long on their faces with Vijay milking the bowlers for some quick runs.

The much-hyped and the number 1 T20I bowler Rashid Khan failed to replicate an immediate success in the longest format of the game. He was whacked for at least a boundary in every over by the Indian openers. KL Rahul came out to bat at number 3 and was not troubled whatsoever and made an effortless half-century. Vijay, on the other hand, was made to wait for almost couple of hours to score his last 6 runs to get to his ton. The rain made its presence to be part of the historic Test as well and interrupted the game twice.

Stunning comeback in the final session

The final session, after the couple of rain-breaks, began just before 4 in the evening as Afghanistan found their groove. Wafadar was the first to strike early as he scalped the centurion Vijay who didn’t offer a shot to an incoming delivery which ended his stupendous knock on 105 runs. Soon KL Rahul chopped on to his stumps off Ahmadzai to give some hope to the debutants. They built the pressure after that even as their best bowler Rashid Khan came to the party pin the opposition skipper Ajinkya Rahane in front of the stumps.

Cheteshwar Pujara got a start and made 35 runs but was foxed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the comeback man Dinesh Karthik was found wanting after engaging in a mix-up with his partner Hardik Pandya. The duo of Ravi Ashwin and Pandya then played the day out carefully as India finished on 347/6, the score which looked like crossing 400 at one stage. They were 280/1 at one stage and then faced a completely different and rejuvenated Afghanistan side in the final session.

Having said that, the total is already daunting and with Ravindra Jadeja yet to come, the hosts should be able to post a score of over 400. On the other hand, the visitors would be looking to clean up the lower order and then hope to bat well in their first attempt at the highest level. An enthralling second day of the historic Test match is awaiting everyone on Friday as Afghanistan have embraced the format with open arms.

Brief Scores

India 347/6 after 78 overs (S Dhawan 107, M Vijay 105; Y Ahmadzai 2/32, Wafadar 1/53)

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