IND vs AFG Test: Suthar strikes thrice on debut after India piles on the runs

India squeezed Afghanistan into a corner on the second day and laid the foundation for a big win in their one-off Test at the New PCA Stadium on Sunday.

After the visitor was buried under a mammoth 564 runs, Manav Suthar (3/21) needed four balls to grab his first international wicket and he cleaned up after a messy opening spell from India’s pacers.

Abdul Malik lapped up two boundaries off Mohammed Siraj’s wayward deliveries at his pads. There was a streaky element in his start too with his edge off Prasidh Krishna dissecting gully and second slip.

Sediqullah Atal rode his luck too by edging through the gully region one ball after the fielder was removed from the position.

Suthar was called in and he duly justified the move, tempting Malik for a sweep and getting his top-edge to short fine leg. Rahmanullah Gurbaz showed how the sweep was to be played and picked Suthar over deep midwicket.

Atal teased Prasidh for a second time when his edge flew wide of gully but the pacer had the last laugh and breached his gate two balls later in the eighth over. Suthar extracted purchase off the surface and got Gurbaz’s edge to second slip.

But thereon began Rahmat Shah’s (43 n.o. 81b, 6×4, 1×6) long vigil during which he became the first Afghan to scale 1,000 Test runs. He started off with a pair of back-footed punches off Kuldeep Yadav through covers. Another boundary came via a cut off Suthar but Rahmat was in no control as the ball flew over the slip.

His 36-run partnership with Hashmatullah Shahidi was self-assurance of sorts that Afghanistan would be no pushover. But it was undone late in the day with a skiddy delivery from Prasidh keeping low and pinning Shahidi in front.

Suthar nabbed Afsar Zazai minutes before close to further spoil Afghanistan’s day, which was at 113 for five at stumps.

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Its ill-fortune with reviews carried on on the second day and it handed let-offs to Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant (81, 121b, 6×4, 3×6) off successive deliveries.

Azmatullah Omarzai’s seam movement beat Gill’s defence and rapped him on the back foot. With only one review in the bank, Afghanistan opted against taking and dropped their heads on seeing three reds on the big screen. A delivery later, Pant poked on the fourth-stump line and edged to the keeper only for Afghanistan to ponder and leave the chance be.

The pair added 40 runs between them from there on and swelled their partnership with 168 runs.

It needed an inspiring six-fer (6/140) from Mohammed Saleem to finally get the ball rolling for Afghanistan. He lured Gill outside off for a caught behind and then nabbed Dhruv Jurel and Suthar to complete his maiden Test fifer.

Pant survived Saleem’s burst but met his end at long-off against Shahidi while looking to go for a swing over the on side.

Washington Sundar notched up a fifty to extend Afghanistan’s labour into a fifth session, but it was Mohammed Siraj’s late fireworks that gave the voice to the scanty Sunday crowd in attendance.

Even after Saleem accounted for Siraj, Washington and Kuldeep frustrated Afghanistan. It was only after India was well above 500 that Gill decided they had been punished enough.

Published on Jun 07, 2026