BENGALURU: Once India put up 474 on the board, making the home team bat again in the one-off Test was always going to be an uphill task for Afghanistan. Innings defeat was imminent and when they walked out to bat, chances of them taking guard a second time on Friday was also foreseeable. But none expected the match to get over in two days.
Fascinating their journey may have been, this was a rude awakening. On Day 1 they showed glimpses of what was expected of them with the ball, only in the third session. It was with the bat that Afghanistan found out they have a long way to go. Before the Test, their only practice fixture was washed out and on the eve of the match rain ruined their batting session. Welcome to Test cricket. That’s how it will be. Unforgiving, even brutal at times.
Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav showed how slow their batsmen are, as the top-order players were hurried into shots. The bowling was probing and batsmen had to be patient. It was not to be and across two innings, only two — Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Stanikzai — faced more than 50 deliveries. The first innings lasted 27.5 overs and the second 38.4, making it the shortest ever Test in the sub-continent.
Coach Phil Simmons felt his players have to work five times harder and play regularly with established A teams to make the transition smooth. “With us there has to be a lot more A team cricket played against big countries by some players just below 18. In England, India, Bangladesh, Australia. I think that’s the best way for us to close this gap.”
They had two forgettable days of cricket in what was supposed to be a memorable Test. Surely this should not dampen spirits. but it should make them aware of what needs to be done. They have learnt the hard way there is no romanticism here. It wasn’t a hurried decision to include them in this format, like it was in case of Bangladesh.
Afghanistan earned this, graduating from the lowest grade. There have only been two editions of four-day cricket in their country and as it grows in popularity, it should produce players who can take this team forward. They won’t get to face top-ranked sides often, but for this group of players the journey in whites has just begun.
Ajinkya Rahane gave them an idea or two for embarking on that sojourn. “It’s not always about the real match situation but also creating those situations in practice. Thinking and visualising as batsmen about how they are going to play against each opponent… it’s all in the mind because skill-wise, every player is similar. If they can get mentally tough and fine-tune their technique, it will be good,” he said.
Brief scores: India 474 bt Afghanistan 109 (Ashwin 4/27) & 103 (Jadeja 4/17).