New Chandigarh, June 7 (IANS) India tightened their grip in the ongoing one-off Test against Afghanistan, declaring at 564/8 and striking early through debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar to leave the visitors at 28/1 in 5.4 overs and trail by 536 runs at tea on day two’s play.

Off-spin bowling Washington Sundar anchored the lower order with a composed 52 not out, his sixth Test fifty, while Mohammed Siraj provided fireworks with a career-best 22 off just 12 balls, before India’s declaration came in 127 overs. Sundar’s fifty was marked by a wristy flick for four off Safi, after slamming a commanding pull for six.

Promoted up the order, Siraj swung freely, hitting a six and four boundaries before Mohammad Saleem Safi cleaned him up. Safi, who had gone wicketless in his previous four international outings, finished with 6-140 in a breakthrough performance, using variable bounce and sharp lengths to rein in India’s batters through a disciplined second new ball spell.

India’s innings was built on skipper and local lad Shubman Gill’s authoritative 126, KL Rahul’s century, Sai Sudharsan’s 81 and Rishabh Pant’s 81 earlier in the day. But the lower-order contributions ensured the hosts had a healthy run-rate of 4.44 and also placed the innings among India’s fourth fastest 500-plus totals in Test history.

India’s declaration was timed to give their bowlers two full sessions, and Gill’s decision was vindicated almost immediately. Afghanistan openers Abdul Malik and Sediqullah Atal began positively, finding boundaries against Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Malik, in particular, struck three fours in his 16-ball stay.

Gill then turned to Suthar just before tea, and the debutant delivered on his fourth ball in Tests – Malik attempted a sweep but top-edged, and Siraj dived forward from backward square to complete the catch, as Suthar celebrated with teammates rushing to embrace him. Though Atal is still unbeaten on 11, the visitors are primed to face a trial by spin in the post-tea session.

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 28/1 in 5.4 overs (Abdul Malik; Manav Suthar 1-0) by 536 runs

–IANS

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