Team India are in a strong position after the second day of the one off Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur.
India declared their innings at 564/8. In reply, Afghanistan reached 113/5 at stumps and still trail by 451 runs.
India got big runs from their top order. Captain Shubman Gill scored 126 runs, while KL Rahul made 100.
Rishabh Pant scored 81 runs and Sai Sudharsan also made 81. Washington Sundar remained unbeaten on 52. Manav Suthar added 28 runs down the order.
Afghanistan fast bowler Mohammad Saleem was the best bowler for his team. He picked up six wickets in the innings.
With his performance, Saleem became the first Afghanistan bowler to take a five wicket haul against India in Test cricket.
The biggest positive for India on Day 2 was debutant Manav Suthar. The 23 year old first scored 28 runs with the bat. Later, he impressed with the ball and put Afghanistan under pressure.
Suthar bowled 15.5 overs, including seven maiden overs, and took three wickets for 21 runs. He kept bowling in the right areas and did not allow the batters to score freely.
It has been a dream debut for the young left arm spinner so far. In this Test, he has looked like India’s best bowler.
If he continues performing like this, he can become an important player for India in the longer format.
Afghanistan have already lost five wickets and still have a long way to go to reach India’s total.
India will now look to take the remaining wickets quickly on Day 3 and put themselves in a position to finish the match early.
