TimesofIndia.com in Mullanpur: The challenge before KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan was not Afghanistan’s bowling attack. It was the transition from two months of relentless T20 cricket back to the demands of Test cricket. One had to rediscover patience after a prolific IPL campaign, while the other had to justify the faith placed in him by the team management. By stumps on Day 1, both had passed their respective tests. Rahul ground his way to a hard-fought century, and Sai produced a fluent 81 as India took control of the one-off Test.For three straight days in the lead-up, KL Rahul spent hours at the nets under the sweltering sun. Even a day before the Test, when training was optional, only three batters turned up: KL Rahul was one of them. Throughout those sessions, one thing stood out: Rahul was trying to play closer to his body and shed the habits of T20 batting. However, unlike most of his teammates, the turnaround was not as abrupt for 34-year-old. Delhi Capitals played their last league game on May 17, more than two weeks before India’s Test squad assembled in Chandigarh.But red-ball cricket brings its own challenges, especially after two months of non-stop T20 cricket.At the start of his innings, Rahul looked rusty. Credit to Afghanistan’s new-ball bowlers, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi and Azmatullah Omarzai, who made the most of whatever little there was to extract from the surface. The duo bowled a disciplined length and asked probing questions of both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rahul.Jaiswal was put down by Abdul Malik at gully when the left-hander was on 11 off Omarzai’s bowling. However, he failed to make the most of the reprieve before Saleem Safi strangled him down the leg side.Rahul struggled for timing through most of the opening session but managed to survive. His frustration was visible as he searched for rhythm. The muscle memory of attacking cricket briefly took over and, in an attempt to break the shackles, he tried a back-foot cut off Ziaur Rahman. There was a definite nick. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, standing at second slip, was convinced, but failed to persuade captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, who decided against taking the DRS.Barring that gift, Rahul looked solid. Afghanistan’s bowlers kept probing and their spinners extracted some bounce as well. Once the early moisture disappeared, Rahul looked increasingly comfortable against spin. Soon after the lunch break, he completed his half-century following an 86-ball grind.Rahul found an able partner in Sai Sudharsan at the other end. The pair added 139 runs for the second wicket.If Rahul looked rusty, Sudharsan, who was preferred ahead of Devdutt Padikkal, made the most of his opportunity with a polished 81. On the eve of the Test, Gautam Gambhir had said that Sai would get a “longer rope” and that the management had complete faith in him to succeed at No. 3.Sai got off to a brisk start with a couple of crisp flicks but was dropped twice, on 18 and 59.Left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote, who extracted good bounce from the pitch in the opening session, induced an outside edge but Gurbaz reacted late behind the stumps. Later, Ziaur Rahman drew Sai into a forward push. The ball straightened, took the outside edge and flew past a diving Afsar Zazai. It went low and to the keeper’s left. Zazai dived full length but could not get a hand to it, and the ball also beat the first-slip fielder.Sai grew in confidence and completed his third Test fifty with a hat-trick of boundaries off Kharote. Just when he looked set for a much bigger score, Mohammad Saleem broke the dangerous partnership with a soft dismissal. Sai drove away from his body, got a thick outside edge, and this time Zazai leaped low to his left to complete a fine catch.After Sai’s dismissal, Rahul took a back seat as captain Shubman Gill, who looked in imperious touch from ball one, hit the ground running. The pair added 67 runs in quick time. Rahul completed his 12th Test hundred and departed off the very next ball he faced after acknowledging the handful of spectators in Mullanpur.Standing at the non-striker’s end, Gill could not believe his eyes and had his right hand on his head. It was not the first time he had been left stunned from the other end. Just last week, at the same venue, but in different colours, he was on his haunches after watching his Gujarat Titans teammate Sai Sudharsan throw away his wicket.Rahul shook his head and walked off in disappointment. He had creamed a cover drive and perhaps wanted to bat with greater freedom after reaching the three-figure mark. Instead, Gurbaz pulled off a smart catch diving forward to his left. Ziaur Rahman, who had bowled his heart out in the morning session, celebrated with visible delight.It was not a fluent innings from either Rahul or Sai, but that was hardly the point. Both needed time in the middle and both got it. Rahul will be disappointed to have fallen immediately after reaching his hundred, having controlled proceedings for most of his stay. Sai, meanwhile, has further strengthened his case at No. 3. The management promised him a long rope and with another assured contribution, he has ensured it remains firmly in his hands.
