India vs Afghanistan | A lesson to learn for the Test debutants
The Afghanistan cricket team have a lot to ponder upon after their Test debut ended in an emphatic loss to a thoroughly superior Indian team. The Indians decimated Afghanistan at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore yesterday as Ajinkya Rahane & Co. won by an innings and 262 runs.
Afghanistan came into the Test match on the back of a convincing T20I series win against Shakib Al Hasan-led Bangladesh and looked to prove a tough challenge for the Indian team. But what followed was a concrete reminder of the difference between the shorter and longer formats of the game.
While Afghanistan have carved a decent reputation in the shorter formats of the game with star player Rashid Khan currently ranked as the number one T20I bowler, they had no clue as to how they would perform in the longer format of the game, until yesterday. Afghanistan were bowled out for 109 and 103 in their first and second innings and lost the five-day Test on the second day itself.
The Test was a stark reminder of the grit and determination required to play the longer format of cricket. However, it would not be fair to criticise Asghar Stanikzai & Co. for their disappointing performance, as it was their first Test ever that too against the number one Test team in the world. A tragedy like this was on the cards for sure.
The Indian openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay laid the base for the Indian innings upon which the likes of KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Hardik Pandya added some valuable contributions to take the total to 474 in the first innings. After that, the Indian bowlers took charge and absolutely hammered the Afghanistan batsmen as seamers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav were in spectacular form with the new ball.
Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, who made a comeback to the Indian Test team, were efficient too and were relentless in their effort to
But a first Test isn’t the time or place to look for scapegoats. If this match has proved anything, it was the massive gulf between the Intercontinental Cup and Test cricket. The only way the Afghan batsmen will come to grip with the unique rhythms of a five-day Test is by playing more against
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