Afghan Test: Empty galleries an eyesore as Gill, Rahul hit classy centuries
Poised at 367 for three after first day, hosts look to out bat the inexperienced opponents
A collage of two Test venues in different parts of the world on social media made for a stark contrast on Saturday. The Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, which became the 31st Test venue of India, wore an embarassingly empty look on first day of India-Afghanistan Test while the Lord’s looked lively during a England-New Zealand contest.
The loss of apetite among Indian audience for Test cricket is enough to raise the alarm bells, and the excuse of Afghans not being a credible opposition does not really hold water. Last November, one was privy to desolate galleries at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati which also made it’s debut as a Test venue with World Test Championship (WTC) winners South Africa locking horns with the hosts in a highly billed game.
A major deterrent in keeping the fans at bay could be the oppressive heat as north India had been reeling under a heatwave for past few weeks. This once again brings back to the wisdom of BCCI in squeezing in a Test and T20I series less than a week after the IPL - which had Gill reporting for duty right after playing the final in Ahmedabad last Sunday.
The weather, however, did not deter Test skipper Shubman Gill (103 batting) and senior pro KL Rahul (100) from helping themselves to their 11th and 12th centuries, respectively, in a classy and unhurried fashion after India opted to bat. Sai Sudarshan, tipped to enjoy a longer run as No.3 by coach Gautam Gambhir, was on the threshold of what could have been his first Test ton but fell to a brilliant catch behind the wicket by Afsar Zazai for 81.
Veteran Rahul, who led a charmed life, profited by giving due respect to the rival bowlers and his 139-run partnership with Sudarshan set the tone for the day. There were occasional misses and the edges that flew through the vacant zone between the keeper and first slip, which otherwise should have been taken. Sudharsan, coming off a purple patch in the IPL, looked at ease with most of his 13 boundaries coming through the mid-wicket region - even though a straight drive off pacer Mohammad Saleem was a treat to watch.
‘’Really happy to have spent some time in the middle after having made the switch from T20 to Tests in a really short time,’’ Rahul said as he revealed that it was a slow track where batting was not really easy. A number of deliveries from the Afghan spinners kept low and it’s a no brainer that the hosts, who ended the day of 367 for three, would like to carry on for as long as possible on Day II and go for the kill with a three-pronged spin attack of Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar.
Rahul, incidentally, survived what looked like a clear nick in TV replays but the Afghans didn’t appeal for caught behind. He played some gorgeous strokes though and defended dourly early on as opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal fell early after a good start.