Afghanistan fast bowler Mohammad Saleem claimed a memorable 6 for 140 on day two of the one-off Test against India, yet his efforts were overshadowed by a faltering batting reply and a few hesitant reviews that cost his side dearly. By stumps in New Chandigarh, the tourists were tottering at 113 for 5, still 451 runs behind India’s imposing 564 for 8 declared.
Saleem, playing only his second Test, ran in hard all day, clocking around 140kph despite temperatures nudging 40°C. India scored at more than five an over, but the 21-year-old kept asking questions on a pitch offering little assistance. He added four wickets on Sunday to the two he picked up late on day one, removing Shubman Gill for 126 with the second new ball before clipping Dhruv Jurel’s off stump as the keeper-batter shouldered arms. Tail-enders Manav Suthar and Mohammed Siraj rounded off the haul.
“He was just fantastic,” Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus said. “If you come here and you take six wickets in extreme heat against high-quality batting, that goes very well – not just for him as a bowler, but for us as a side. He just held a length. And I think if you hold a length, you’re in the game the whole time.”
India all-rounder Washington Sundar added: “That was honestly high-quality bowling. There was not much in the pitch for the seamers. Only when you hit the seam over a period of time, you sort of get a little bit of purchase. To hit the seam consistently over a number of overs takes a lot of skill and attitude. He bowled long spells – think every single spell he bowled, he bowled more than four, five, [or] even six overs in one of the spells. You can see he is a tough character.”
India’s innings had earlier been propelled by Gill’s fluent hundred and brisk contributions from KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Sundar. But Afghanistan might have restricted the total had they managed their Decision Review System (DRS) calls with more conviction.
In the day’s fourth over, Azmatullah Omarzai struck Gill on the pad. Umpire Sharfuddoula said not out, and after a brief chat the visitors moved on. The very next ball, Omarzai induced a faint edge from Pant; again no review, again replays showed the batter was gone. A day earlier, Rahul had gloved behind on 16 – Sharfuddoula unmoved, Afghanistan quiet, Rahul marched to 100.
“We were exceptionally rusty,” Pybus admitted. “Without throwing anybody under the bus, I think there was a lack of conviction in decision-making.”
The coach explained the captain’s dilemma: “At the end of the day, the skipper has got a very short period of time to make those decisions. He has got a couple of guys that he is speaking to for the decision-making process. He has got the wicketkeeper, who has to give him his alignment. He has got a point who needs to give him height. And he is reliant on the bowler as well in terms of what the bowler is seeing in front of him.”
Afghanistan’s top order then struggled against India’s attack led by Siraj and the lively left-arm spinner Suthar. Early boundaries from Ibrahim Zadran offered brief promise, but wickets tumbled regularly, including a careless run-out, leaving the lower middle order with a mountain to climb.
The match is only halfway through, yet the visitors already need something extraordinary to make Saleem’s standout performance count. For now, his six-for remains the bright spark in a testing outing under a fierce Punjabi sun.
