Afghanistan ended day 2 on 113/5 in first innings.
India off-spinner Washington Sundar has showered rich praise on teammate Manav Suthar, who on his Test debut, rocked Afghanistan's batting lineup on day 2 of the ongoing one-off Test at New Chandigarh.
Thanks to centuries by KL Rahul (100) and Shubman Gill (126) and 81 each by Sai Sudharsan and Rishabh Pant, with contributions from Washington Sundar (52*) and Manavi Suthar (28), India posted a massive 564/8d in the first innings.
Then, Manav Suthar showed his magic with the ball and picked a wicket in the first over he bowled in Test cricket. He accounted for two more batters, finishing the second day on 3/21, while Prasidh Krishna took 2/27 as Afghanistan made 113/5, with Rahmat Shah top-scoring with 43*.
Asked to comment on Suthar's performance, teammate Washington Sundar was all-praise.
“He (Suthar) has been brilliant. We, as players who have been playing with him in the last few years, know what he can actually bring to the table, especially in this format. The amount of skills he's got and the way he's sort of worked on them over the years is a genuine treat to watch. For him to bring out his best skill sets, especially on Day 2, is amazing.
Congrats to him, and you can expect a lot more from him, especially in terms of winning a lot of games for India,” Washington said in the post-day press conference.
Washington went on to highlight Suthar's qualities and what makes him a valuable member of Team India.
“He's got great skill sets as a genuine spinner. In terms of how much he can actually spin the ball and how many revs he can actually bring on the ball—that has always been a strength.
Over the years, in many formats, he's played a lot of red-ball cricket, especially in the last two or three years, and done really well. In terms of skill sets, I think he gives all his energy into the ball every single delivery. He uses a lot of his body, which is quite evident. Every time he gets into his load-up and releases the ball, he gives all of his energy into the ball. That's an amazing skill as well as an attitude to bring to every single delivery,” Washington Sundar added.
Having batted for a considerable amount of time, Washington assessed that the track would only get slower.
“I think the wicket is a little slow and obviously has a bit of spin in terms of purchase. Over the next couple of days, it will only start to get even slower and spin a little more. Bowling a little up (fuller) on this wicket would be crucial because to drive, or even drive on the rise, would be very difficult. You've got to grind, play a lot of balls, and eventually get runs,” he said.
(PTI inputs)