🏏Afghanistan tour of India 2026: Only Test on 6th June @ 9:30AM🏏 - Page 2

The Test debut for Mullanpur

It was mostly a flat track here that the Punjab Kings so loved. Their ultra-aggressive batters had fun, cushioning their bowlers with a few extra runs that helped in defence. But one feels this won't be an absolute road for this game. Mullanpur will now become India's 31st Test venue. There was some grass cover on the eve of the game but expect it to be trimmed. How quickly will it aid turn is the big question? As batters, you got to bat badly or run into a couple of highly-inspired bowlers to find the going tough today.

Sai Sudharsan at No. 3

After a good domestic season, there have been calls to play Devdutt Padikkal at 3. If the IPL is a consideration for you regarding recent form, that's a positive remark on DDP's report card as well. But given that they started with the Sai experiment in England last year, they want to give the talented Tamil Nadu youngster a longer run. After a difficult time in England, Sai scored a fifty against West Indies, but didn't do much in the one Test he played against South Africa. Given his ability to play spin well and his familiarity with the conditions, the think tank hopes he clicks.

Why is Rashid Khan not playing this Test?

Having watched Rashid Khan for the entire IPL season, it's natural to look for him in this game too. But the star spinner isn't available for this game. In 2023 Rashid underwent surgery on his troublesome back after which he rushed his way back to cricket, a decision he regretted later. "When I had the surgery, I took only two months to get back on field and that was something that I did in a hurry and I feel that time I made a huge mistake to be in the centre that soon," he admitted. Doctors then advised him not play the longest format as of now as playing red ball cricket will need bowling a lot of overs every single day, compared to limited number of overs in white ball cricket.

Pitch Report | Deep Dasgupta and Michael Clarke: "It was only a few days ago we were here, white ball, coloured clothes, floodlights, but we are back with red ball again. The start of the home season as India hosts Afghanistan for this one-off Test. And for the first time here at New Chandigarh, becoming the 31st Test venue here in India. It was such a wonderful batting surface during the IPL. It looks fantastic. The ground once again is in outstanding conditions. The pitch looks beautiful. There's no doubt you might see some deterioration as this Test match goes on, but I think for the first couple of days it's going to be beautiful for batting. You can see closer to the batter's end or where the bowlers are releasing the ball from, it looks a little bit drier. If you come to the middle of the pitch, it looks like it might have just had a little sprinkle maybe overnight, so maybe a little bit of moisture for the quicks early on today. But I would imagine it's going to be good for batting. One of those pitches, do the work to get in, once you get in, make hay while the sun shines. That extra bit of moisture and the grass coating here is predominantly because of the heat. It's almost 40 degrees and it'll hotter and it's dry as well. Good surface to bat on. Get in and get a lot of runs."

Suthar gets his cap from Kuldeep

Never heard about him. How is he?

Washington Sundar and Kuldeep will likely form the spin attack. Batting-wise, Sudharsan retaining his spot is a show of faith from Gautam Gambhir especially, who's been vocalwith his support.

Cricket schedule is relentless or merciless, depending on your perspective. Particularly in India. Not a week has passed since the IPL final and here we are for a Test match. It's a solo event and the bright side is that Afghanistan get game time. They've played a Test and a half per year since their initiation in 2018 and are under a new coach Richard Pybus after Jonathan Trott resigned. India have new faces in their line-up. There are Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav looking to get back into form after poor IPL outings. Let's see how these storylines unfold and if Afghanistan give the hosts a run for their money.

Shaurya: "Some more time from Jonathan Trott would have been amazing for the Afghans...but looking from a fan perspective they were enjoying and learning a lot!!"

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