Afghanistan star batter Rahmat Shah etched his name into the history books as he completed his 1000 runs in the format during the one-off Test against India at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur. Shah achieved the milestone on Day 2 of the clash on June 7 as Afghanistan were tasked with replying to a massive score of 564/8d by India.
While Afghanistan lost a few early wickets, Shah put up a fight as he became the first player from his nation to get to 1000 runs in Test cricket. Afghanistan started playing Tests only in 2018 when they made their debut against India. They are only into their 13th Test after being granted Test nation status in June 2017.
Meanwhile, Shah achieved the feat in the third and final session of the second day when he inside-edged a Manav Suthar delivery towards fine leg for a four. He needed 30 runs to get to the milestone, and that boundary took him to 31.ย
Manav Suthar makes strong debut
Meanwhile, it was a pretty strong debut for left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Manav Suthar, who made his way into the Indian side after a long domestic grind. He took two of the first three wickets to fall as he made the ball talk on Day 2 of the clash. Suthar claimed his maiden Test wicket after removing opener Abdul Malik in his very first over of his career.ย
Suthar troubles the batters with the ball spinning square as Malik went for a sweep but edged it near the fine leg. Mohammed Siraj took the catch after avoiding KL Rahul, who came inย his vision from slips.ย
Suthar got another wicket when he removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, caught at slips with a ball that turned away from the right-hander as Sai Sudharsan took the low catch.
Indian batters make merry as centuries pile up
Meanwhile, the Indian batters dominated the proceedings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur. Led by centuries from captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, the hosts piled up a huge 564/8d in the first innings. Rahul made 100, while Gill was dismissed for 126 as they continued their strong performances in the format.ย
Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar also scored impressive fifties. Sudharsan, who is set to get a long rope from team head coach Gautam Gambhir, made a strong 81, while Pant was dismissed for 81 too. Sundar made an unbeaten 52 before India declared their innings.
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