NEW CHANDIGARH: For the first time since 2010, India fielded a Test XI at home without either Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja. Over the last two home seasons, the fear factor around Indian spinners has diminished significantly. Handing the India cap to left-arm spinner Manav Suthar in the one-off Test against Afghanistan here was a step towards resurrecting that reputation, and the first signs on Sunday were promising.
After a spell of classical left-arm spin (3/21 in 15.5 overs) on Day Two, which reduced the inexperienced Afghanistan batting to 113/5 at stumps, Suthar has the Indian cricket fraternity excited. He had the cushion of Indian batters putting up 564/8 before captain Shubman Gill declared late in the second session. The pitch slowed down but started to turn just a bit, and the 23-year-old from Sri Ganganagar announced that he can be the man to take over from Jadeja in due course.
Pace, accuracy and movement
On the eve of the Test, head coach Gautam Gambhir suggested that the team management wanted to try a new left-arm spinner here who can be the fourth spinning option for India in the next series against Sri Lanka in August. Going by the evidence on Sunday afternoon, Suthar can be the right man for the job.
The southpaw was extremely accurate in his spell, and unlike Jadeja, he is slightly slower through the air. The guile, running in diagonally past the umpire to bowl around the wicket, reminded one of classical left-arm orthodox bowlers who are slowly going out of circulation. The turn and zip off the slowish pitch had a lot to do with the revolutions that he imparted on the ball, with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant forced to collect a few near his chest.
No signs of nerves
Suthar showed no sign of nerves and proved why he has been rated so highly. “Manav’s been outstanding. Those of us who’ve seen him over the past few years know exactly what he brings to the table, especially in this format. He’s got a great skill set and has worked really hard on it. It’s the turn and the revs that he imparts on the ball that stand out,” Washington said after play on Sunday.
Brief scores
India 564/8 decl (S Gill 126, KL Rahul 100, M Saleem 6/140) lead Afghanistan 113/5 (Rahmat Shah 43*, M Suthar 3/21, Prasidh 2/27) by 451 runs.
