Afghanistan quick Mohammad Saleem, however, was a rare shining light for his side with the pink-ball in their one-off Test against India in New Chandigarh. Afghanistan struggled with the bat but Saleem returned to bowl well for India, taking six of their wickets while conceding 140 runs in Afghanistan’s first innings
Afghanistan, in their first innings at the end of day two, were facing struggle at 113 for 5 but still trailing India by 451 runs. But Saleem was praised heavilt by both teams. The young pacer, who was only 2nd Test match came two days after Virat Kohli said that there was not much help on offer for the quicks and the wicket was dead due to extreme heat.
Saleem, who had dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and B Sai Sudharsan on the opening day, got more key wickets on day two. He used the second new ball to send back India captain Shubman Gill (126) before another angry delivery bowled Dhruv Jurel. Later, dismissed Manav Suthar and Mohammed Siraj; India declared at a huge 564 for 8.
Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus described Saleem’s discipline and consistency as outstanding. “To bowl a good length in such heat going up against possibly one of the best batting line-ups around is impressive and very dogged,” Pybus said. India all-rounder Washington Sundar also hailed Saleem, saying he could “hit the seam and bowl a long spell at 130-135 km/h with remarkable fitness”.
Though Saleem’s heroics proved pivotal in Afghanistan battling so hard, they were left to rue anywhere from three to seven missed opportunities with the Decision Review System (DRS). The tourists did not refer several borderline decisions which replays typically revealed would have brought wickets. This included missed opportunities to dismiss Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant on day two, while KL Rahul was also dropped after he had been given a reprieve on the first day, eventually scoring a hundred.
The decision-making of the team regarding reviews, said Pybus, was “rusty”. He said DRS calls are routinely successful when the captain, wicketkeeper, bowler and fielders speak with one another quickly. He said Afghanistan’s reluctance had come back to bite them hard as India piled onto a mammoth first-innings total.
