KL Rahul struck his 12th Test century on Day 1 of the one-off Test against Afghanistan at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, anchoring India to a commanding 368/3 at stumps. The opener said a deliberate decision to trust his natural strokeplay — rather than suppress it in deference to the format — was central to his knock.

The Mindset Behind the Century

Rahul acknowledged the psychological challenge of shifting from months of T20 cricket directly into the longest format. 'Sometimes you sit and overanalyse and try to play completely differently to T20 cricket,' he said after the day's play. 'Something that I consciously tried was not to restrict my shots, but also be aware of what kind of shots I can play on this wicket against what kind of bowlers.'

He admitted to playing a few extra attacking strokes in the morning session but refused to let that affect his composure. 'It didn't make me frustrated or angry at myself,' he said. 'I was okay with playing shots and playing to the merit of the ball.'

The T20-to-Test Switch

The right-hander said the transition from the IPL's fast-paced environment to Test-match patience took only a couple of days — a fact he found particularly satisfying. 'I'm really happy that I could get some time in the middle and make that switch from T20 to Test cricket in a couple of days. That was the most pleasing thing,' Rahul said.

Notably, this ability to recalibrate quickly has been a recurring theme in Rahul's Test career, which has seen him bat across formats and positions for India over the past decade.

Reading the Surface

Rahul credited India's pre-match training camp in New Chandigarh for giving him early insight into the nature of the pitch. 'It wasn't coming on at all. It was a really slow and low sort of wicket, which we did expect. We had a few days of training here, and it was pretty similar to this. I had to get used to spending time in the middle and letting the ball come to you,' he explained.

He added that carrying the habits built in training directly into match conditions made the difference. 'The few days that we spent here really helped, and I just carried that same training into the game and enjoyed being out in the middle and playing some good old Test cricket.'

India's Dominant Day 1

Rahul's century was one of three substantial contributions on a day that firmly tilted the match in India's favour. Captain Shubman Gill remained unbeaten on 103, while Sai Sudharsan contributed 81. The trio helped India recover from an early wicket to post 368/3 — a total that puts Afghanistan under immediate pressure heading into Day 2.

With Gill still at the crease and the lower order yet to bat, India will look to push their first-innings total well beyond 450 when play resumes.