- By Sunny Daud
- Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:44 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Debutant Manav Suthar made a memorable start to his Test career as India took complete control of the one-off Test against Afghanistan on Day 2. The young left-arm spinner picked up three wickets and played a key role in reducing Afghanistan to 113/5 at stumps after India declared their first innings at 564/8.
India’s innings was powered by centuries from captain Shubman Gill and a composed half-century from Washington Sundar. Sundar remained unbeaten after adding a useful 54-run partnership with Suthar, who also chipped in with 28 valuable runs. Once Sundar reached his fifty, Gill decided to declare, giving India’s bowlers enough time to make an impact before the close of play.
Suthar wasted little time in making his presence felt. Introduced just before tea, he struck in his very first over by dismissing opener Abdul Malik. The youngster impressed with his control, flight and ability to extract turn from the surface. He consistently challenged the batters by landing the ball in the right areas and varying his deliveries without changing his action.
His second wicket was that of Rahmanullah Gurbaz. After bowling a few deliveries that went straight on, Suthar produced one that dipped and turned away sharply, finding the edge and ending Gurbaz’s stay at the crease. He later added a third wicket when Afsar Zazai misjudged a delivery that held up slightly off the pitch, offering a simple return catch.
What stood out most was Suthar’s ability to keep things simple. While modern-day spin bowling often focuses on containment, he relied on traditional strengths like flight, drift and turn. His performance offered a glimpse of India’s future spin resources and showed why he is highly regarded in domestic cricket.
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Earlier in the day, Rishabh Pant entertained with a fluent 81 off 121 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter mixed aggression with patience, playing several eye-catching strokes while also showing restraint when needed. However, he fell short of a deserved century after being caught while attempting an attacking shot against debutant spinner Nangeyalia Kharote.
Gill also played a captain’s knock, scoring 126 before being dismissed by Mohammad Saleem, who was Afghanistan’s standout bowler with six wickets in the innings.
With a massive 451-run lead and Afghanistan already five wickets down, India head into Day 3 firmly in the driver’s seat.