June 6 (Reuters) - KL Rahul rode a stroke of luck on his way to 37 as India reached 96 for one at lunch on the opening day of their one-off test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh on Saturday.
• Opting to bat after winning the toss, India's openers had a slightly nervy start to the innings.
• Rahul was handed a major reprieve in the 11th over when a clear edge went unreviewed by the visitors, despite vociferous appeals from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, with replays later confirming the batter would have been dismissed.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) was the only Indian to lose his wicket in the first session, strangled down the leg side as he edged a Mohammad Saleem delivery to wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai.
• Rahul (37) and Sai Sudharsan (32) then put on a 55-run partnership for the second wicket.
• India are coming off a difficult couple of years in test cricket, which have included defeats by New Zealand, South Africa and Australia and seen them slip to sixth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
• A win over Afghanistan would not bring any WTC points, but would help boost India's confidence ahead of their series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand later this year.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
