In England last summer, Shubman Gill thrived under the responsibility of the captaincy of the Test side, unleashing four centuries on his way to 754 runs in five Tests. In his first Test in the city of his cricketing birth, the classy right-hander produced a delectable fifth hundred in his last nine outings, on Day One of the one-off Test against Afghanistan on Saturday.

KL Rahul, now Gill’s deputy, has relished the role clarity that has stemmed from Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the five-day game. Now firmly entrenched in the opener’s slot, Rahul extended his purple patch with a fourth century in his last 10 Tests, putting Afghanistan to the sword.