In the second day of the One-off test match between India and Afghanistan, Shubman Gill adopted a unique fielding opposition in the over bowled by Manav Suthar. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was playing with soft hands while facing Suthar, and the ball wasn’t carrying to the slip fielders.
Shubman Gill decided to go down on his knees to avoid the ball falling just short of him and the commentators claimed that it was the perfect position to eliminate the near misses. Despite Gill’s efforts, the ball still fell short of him and the commentator stated that he couldn’t get any lower than he already was.
India’s debutant Manav Suthar spun the web around the Afghanistan batting unit with his incredible bowling and he picked up 3 big wickets. With a total of 564 on board, Afghanistan were undoubtedly under pressure to get some runs on the board and to reduce the trail.
However, they couldn’t contain the clinical bowling of Manav Suthar and Prasidh Krishna as both the bowlers cleaned up half the side together. Afghanistan still trail by 451 runs and it doesn’t seem like they will find their way back in the contest considering India’s bowling form.
India’s dominant all-round performance outwits Afghanistan
The Indian skipper Shubman Gill was determined to leave no stone unturned in the field as his fielding effort was as committed as it could get. The slip cordon is often regarded as one of the most difficult positions to field in test cricket as the pace of the ball coming off the bat is unpredictable.
Shubman Gill was desperate to see the end of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and he was on his knees, waiting for an opportunity to arise. Manav Suthar kept his lengths tight and close to the fourth stump to force the edge of the batter, but the ball didn’t have enough carry to go into the hands of Shubman Gill in slip.
India’s collective batting effort is what laid the foundation for this dominant bowling performance as Afghanistan were struggling to bowl to the Indian batters. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill excelled in the first innings with some world-class centuries. Sai Sudharshan, Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant were also on top of their game with solid half-centuries.
Even Mohammed Siraj played an explosive cameo towards the end and India decided to declare the innings at 564 with the loss of 8 wickets. It will be just a matter of time until India wraps up this test match and Manav Suthar is proving to be an excellent talent for the side and he could even cement his spot in the side with his all-round abilities.
