New Chandigarh: India continued their dominance in the one-off Test against Afghanistan – declaring at 564/8 in 126 overs and then reduced the visitors to 113/5 at stumps on day two’s play. For India, debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar emerged as the standout performer to pick 3-21 in 15.5 overs, as Afghanistan still trail by 451 runs.
The hosts had earlier declared after Washington Sundar hit a composed 52 not out, his sixth Test fifty, and Mohammed Siraj produced an entertaining cameo of 22 off 12 balls. Captain Shubman Gill declared soon after Sundar reached his fifty, giving his bowlers two full sessions to put Afghanistan under the pump.
Afghanistan’s reply faltered almost immediately. Abdul Malik attempted to counterattack but was undone by Suthar’s sharp turn – on a sweep, he gave a top-edge to backward square leg. After the tea break was over, Prasidh Krishna produced a lovely nip-backer to uproot Sediqullah Atal’s stumps.
Suthar, operating with remarkable control and brisk pace, bowled maiden after maiden to keep the batters on a lid. His accuracy was rewarded again when Rahmanullah Gurbaz nicked to slip, where a sharp catch was taken.
Rahmat Shah provided the only semblance of stability for Afghanistan, reaching 43 not out by stumps and becoming the first Afghanistan player to cross 1000 Test runs. Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav also kept the pressure on, ensuring Afghanistan never found rhythm.
His 36-run partnership with Hashmatullah Shahidi briefly steadied the innings. But Prasidh struck again to trap Shahidi lbw, leaving the visitors in deeper trouble. Afsar Zazai’s resistance ended in dramatic fashion as he closed the bat face too early and offered a simple return catch to Suthar, who ended his first day of bowling in Test cricket on a high. Afghanistan, meanwhile, now face a daunting task to avoid follow-on
Brief Scores: India 564/8 dec in 127 overs (Shubman Gill 126, KL Rahul 100; Mohammad Saleem Safi 6-140, Hashmatullah Shahidi 1-91) trail Afghanistan 113/5 in 39.5 overs (Rahmat Shah 43 not out, Hashmatullah Shahidi 29; Manav Suthar 3-21, Prasidh Krishna 2-27) by 451 runs
(IANS)
