India wrest advantage on Day 2 as Manav Suthar leads charge with the ball

Team India finished the second day of the ongoing Test against Afghanistan strongly as the Indian bowlers arrived to the party, led by debutant Manav Suthar. Starting the day at 368/3, India had a jumpy start with Afghanistan not opting for reviews. However, the Indian batters made the most of the lifelines and eventually put up a formidable total.

Shubman Gill’s stunning run came to an end at 126 as he holed out to Afsar Zazai off Mohammad Saleem’s bowling. The long-standing partnership between Gill and Pant added 169 runs for the fourth wicket. Much to India’s woes, they lost Dhruv Jurel (19) and Rishabh Pant (81) in quick succession, allowing the visitors to get in a strong shift.

However, an incoming Washington Sundar (52*) and debutant Manav Suthar (28) put a halt to the Afghan attack, adding 54 runs for the seventh wicket. Mohammed Siraj’s arrival in the center augured a storm for the Afghan bowlers as he smashed 22 off just 12 balls, clobbering four fours and a six. India eventually declared at 564/8 with Sundar staying unbeaten.

Afghanistan knew it won’t be an easy task for them to contest India’s bowling attack. Abdul Malik (16) and Sediqullah Atal (17) added 28 runs for the opening stand before India could draw first blood. It was Manav Suthar who got India their first breakthrough as he claimed the wicket of Malik.

One of their most experienced campaigners, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (12) couldn’t add much either as Manav Suthar doubled his tally, leaving the visitors wobbling. Hashmatullah Shahidi (20) alongside a warring Rahman Shah (43*) added 36 runs for the fourth wicket and brought a shard of fight to the Indian bowlers.

However, Prasidh Krishna snuffed out the resistance with the crucial scalp of Shahidi while India finished strongly with the wicket of Afsar Zazai (3) who played straight back to Suthar. Suthar was the pick of the lot at the end of Day 2 with figures of 3/21.

Brief scores:

India – 564/8 (Shubman Gill – 126, KL Rahul 100, Mohammad Saleem – 6/140)

Afghanistan – 113/5 (Rahman Shah – 43*, Manav Suthar – 3/21)

Afghanistan trail by 451 runs