India beat Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs on Day 2. (Source: AP)
India beat Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs in the only Test between the two countries on Friday. It was a pretty brief affair at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru as the visitors were dismissed twice within a day, 109 in the first innings and 103 in the second. This was after India had scored 474 in their first innings.
The second session of day two after lunch was all about the home team. India dominated proceedings with an emphatic bowling performance as they bowled out Afghanistan for a paltry 109 in the first innings. R Ashwin bagged four wickets while seamers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav did most of the damage at the top. The Afghan batsmen simply failed to turn up on the day and were guilty of playing too many shots without settling in. Incidentally, Afghanistan have batted the fewest overs in an innings of their inaugural Test- 27.5 overs. Once again in the second innings, none of the Afghan batsmen could last long enough to stop the Indian bowlers from inflicting damage. Ravindra Jadeja picked up four wickets as India won the match comfortably.
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score: Murali Vijay scored a ton on the first day. (Source: BCCI)
Another one bites the dust. This time it is Mujeeb Ur Rahman who is dismissed for 3. Goes for the slog but finds Umesh Yadav at mid-on. Jadeja gets his fourth wicket. AFG- 98/9
Ravindra Jadeja strikes! This time it is Rashid Khan who departs for 12. Quicker delivery goes with the arm and Rashid Khan tries to cut it but chops it back to the stumps. Afghanistan are in tatters at 82/7. They still trail by 283 runs. Meanwhile, 21 wickets have fallen on the day, the highest to have fallen in a day's play in India.
Peach of a delivery by Ravindra Jadeja gets the better of Afsar Zazai's defence. The ball pitches on the middle and off and turns just enough to beat the willow and disturb the timber. Zazai is clean bowled for 1. AFG- 62/6, trail by 303 runs
Ravindra Jadeja gets the wicket of Asghar Stanikzai for 25. A poor shot leads to an end of a fine little innings. AFG- 61/5, trail by 304 runs
50 comes up for Afghanistan. Stanikzai and Shahidi are continuing to build on their partnership. This is a good period of play for the visitors. Afghanistan trail by 315 runs
Skipper Asghar Stanikzai (12), Hashmatullah Shahidi (3) are forging a small little partnership in the middle. It is taking time but for the moment they have at least managed to arrest the fall of wickets. This partnership needs to keep going if the Afghans need some sort of respectability on the scoreboard.
Rahmat Shah is dismissed by Ishant Sharma for 4. Afghanistan are all over the place. Poor shot selection by the batters is not helping their cause. With this Ishant Sharma (237) has now moved up to the third spot in the list of fast bowlers with most wickets for India. AFG- 24/4
Mohammad Nabi is out for a duck. Wrapped on the pads and the Indian's go up for a review. Three reds and it is out. Afghanistan lose their third batsman in their second innings. AFG- 22/3
Javed Ahmadi is gone for 3. Caught on the crease and knicks the ball and a smart catch by Shikhar Dhawan in the slips. Second wicket for Umesh Yadav. AFG- 22/2, trail by 343 runs
Mohammad Shahzad is caught behind off Umesh Yadav for 13. Pitched up delivery, moves slightly and finds the edge. Second time in a day Shahzad has been dismissed. AFG- 19/1, trail by 346 runs
Mohammad Shahzad and Javed Ahmadi are at the crease. Unlike Umesh Yadav, this time Ishant Sharma has the new ball in hand. Afghanistan have a real battle on their hands. They trail by 365 runs.
STUMPED! Mujeeb Ur Rahman is out for 15. Dances down the track to Jadeja but misses the ball completely, Karthik whips the bails in a flash. Afghanistan are all-out 109, trailing India by 365 runs . Ravichandran Ashwin picks up 4 wickets. Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja have two apiece The big news coming in is that India have enforced the follow-on.
First six of the innings comes from the bat of Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Shortish delivery by Jadeja and the batsman slaps it over mid-wicket for a maximum. AFG- 101/9
R Ashwin gets his fourth, Mohammad Nabi is caught by Ishant Sharma for 24. Tossed up delivery and Nabi goes for the big hit but can only find the fielder towards the deep-square leg region. Just one wicket remaining for Afghanistan. AFG- 88/9,trail by 386 runs.
The carrom-ball has done the trick. Yamin Ahmadzai goes for a lofted shot but can only find the edge which is taken by Jadeja at the point. Ahmadzai is gone for a duck. R Ashwin gets his 3rd wicket of the innings. AFG- 87/8, trail by 387 runs.
Soft dismissal! The ball is on the shorter side and Rashid Khan goes for the cut but lobs it straight to Umesh Yadav at point. He is out for 7. This time it is Ravindra Jadeja who picks up the wicket, his first of the innings. AFG- 78/7, trail by 396 runs
While the Afghans have lost more than half their side even before reaching the 100-run mark, their batsmen are still keen on playing the expansive shots. SRH's Mohammad Nabi slams two fours of Harik Pandya to keep the scoreboard ticking. Teammate Rashid Khan is keeping him company. AFG- 78/6, trail by 396 runs.
R Ashwin strikes again. Quicker delivery darts back onto the pads and the batsman goes for the review but the decision remains in favour of the bowler. Hashmatullah Shahidi is out for 11. Afghanistan continues to sink further. AFG- 59/6, trail by 415 runs.
OUT! Ashwin gets a wicket in his first over. It's a beautifully delivered off-spinner which gets the purchase from the wicket and opens up the space between the bat and pad. Asghar Stanikzai falls for 11. Afghanistan have lost half their side and are in deep trouble. AFG 50/5
Middle Stump goes for a walk! Ishant Sharma is making the ball to do the talking. Once again pitches on good length and darts in to dismiss Afsar Zazai for 6. AFG- 35/4
Rahmat Shah is out for 14. Umesh Yadav traps him plumb in front. 100th wicket for Umesh Yadav in Test Cricket. Yet another milestone in a historic Test match. AFG 35/3
Ishant Sharma has hit the middle stump. Javed Ahmadi is out for 1. The ball pitches just outside the off stump and jags back in, the batsmen is too late to react and that' it. The sound of timber and a great start for India. AFG- 21/2
Mohammad Shahzad is the first wicket to fall as Hardik Pandya gets a direct hit! The batsman dabs the ball towards the point region and goes for a quick but Pandya is too quick and before Shahzad can reach the crease the ball has hit the wicket. AFG- 15/1.
Mohammad Shahzad's boundary brings up the first runs in Test cricket for Afghanistan. Another one for the history books. The ball swings outside the off and Shahzad lunges into it and goes for the uppish drive. Umesh Yadav is not impressed.
After Lunch, Umesh Yadav starts off with the ball and it is Mohammad Shahzad and Javed Ahmadi who have come out to bat. They will be tested in the first hour and it will be interesting to see how they respond to the challenge.
Rashid Khan gets the final wicket as he dismisses Ishant Sharma for 8 and that wraps up India's first innings. He calls for a review but that was plumb. INDI 474 all out in first session. And Lunch has been called for.
Umesh Yadav shows his skills with the bat as he hammers a four and a six to take India's total to 450.
Two back-to-back blows for India as Hardik Pandya departs for 40 with Wafadar taking another wicket. Terrible shot by Pandya, who failed to understand the short ball, and got an edge on it, only to give an easy catch to the wicketkeeper. IND 440/9
Mohammad Nabi gets his first wicket as Ravindra Jadeja departs for 20. He tried to go big for a six, stepped forward on a short ball, but mistimed the shot and gets a leading edge on the ball. The ball flies high in the air and is taken by Rahmat Shah. IND 436/8
Hardik Pandya is on fire after completing his half century. He smacks Wafadar for two consecutive boundaries, and then lofts it up in the air. It was a single, till the fielder made a mess and gave away four over throw runs.
Hardik Pandya completes his 3rd Test fifty in style as he slog sweeps the delivery from Mohammad Nabi for a four. He reaches the landmark in 83 balls as he shows he is back in form with the bat, and pushes his name forward for England selection! Maybe?
Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja take India's total to 400/7 in the first session. It is a good total, but it is still a batting surface, despite frequent spells of rains, and both these allrounders need to deliver with the ball as well.
Afghanistan players Rashid Khan, Asghar Stanikzai celebrated Eid before the start of the play on Day 2 in Bengaluru. All the Afghanistan players took part in the Eid celebrations. READ MORE
Hardik Pandya has been in excellent form this morning as he is fighting a lone battle for India at the moment. He has reached 40* and he is being supported on the other end by Ravindra Jadeja who has scored 6 runs so far.
Three fours for Hardik Pandya (37) and he is really turning it on! The first one is past the slip to the third man fence, then to long on and ends the over with another four towards deep extra cover. India- 389/7.
Yamin Ahmadzai has dismissed Ravichandran Ashwin. Wide delivery and the allrounder gets a soft touch to it. The ball goes straight to the wicketkeeper and Ashwin was unconvinced that the ball had carried. Replays showed that it was a clean catch. Ashwin gone for 18. IND 369/7
Hardik Pandya steals a second run and survive a run out chance as the fielder almost hit the stumps. But apart from the one moment of loose in concentration, it has been a pretty steady start for India.
Afghanistan have the option to take the new ball but for now the captain Asghar Stanikzai is sticking with the older ball and keeping Rashid Khan on the attack. He clearly is backing the best bowler of his side to take up another wicket early in the day. It remains to be seen if this proves any effective.
Hardik Pandya shows intent as he hits the ball for a double on Yamin Ahmadzai's over in the second over. He brings up 350 up for India. Good start for the home side on Day 2 as they look to increase their first innings total.