IND vs AFG Live Score, India vs Afghanistan One-Off Test Match Day 2

IND vs AFG Live Cricket Score, One-Off Test Match Day 2: Mohammad Saleem Safi picks Mohammed Siraj. Earlier, With twin centuries by Shubman Gill and KL Rahul on the opening day, India will enter day 2 firmly on the driver’s seat against Afghanistan in the one-off Test exhibition on Sunday. Gill is still unbeaten with 103 runs while Rahul fell for 100 with India posting a massive 368/3 at day 1 stumps

With Gill, Rishabh Pant is in the middle with an unbeaten 50 in an innings where he looked to have curbed his natural instincts to go from ball one. Instead, the former vice-captain played cautiously, only going after balls that he was sure to get runs.

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Sai Sudharsan, batting at No.3 after being told that he’ll be given a long rope in the position, looked impressive with his 81 runs but he fell to Saleem Safi before he could get to three figures. The only batter who will be disappointed in himself for not taking advantage of a batting pitch will be Yasahsvi Jaiswal who was sent back for 24 runs by Sarfi.

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IND vs AFG Live Score: India 550/8 after 124.3 overs vs Afghanistan

Well, there might be instructions given, but there has been no change in the approach, especially from Kuldeep Yadav. So it might be just Washington Sundar's half-century we are waiting for before India declares. Afghanistan, though, has been persistent with Saleem. Usually, we have seen captains tend to bring in their part-timers into the attack and try to delay the game as much as they can, but we have not seen any of that from Afghanistan. They have kept their main bowlers in operation. It might have to do with the experience they can gain in this Test match.

IND vs AFG Live Score: India 544/8 after 123 overs vs Afghanistan

Prasidh Krishna is not padded up. He is ready to bowl, so one would assume the declaration is sooner rather than later. We have a water break currently, so the coaching staff will have clear communication with Sundar, especially on what they are expecting from this innings from here on. Tactically speaking, they can wait a bit longer, but given how quickly they have been scoring, 544 is a pretty high score, and given the inexperience of Afghanistan, it should be good enough to take a significant chunk of lead in the first innings. Another school of thought is just to bat as much as they can while the wicket is good and give the worst of the conditions to Afghanistan to bat.

IND vs AFG Live Score: India 542/8 after 121.1 overs vs Afghanistan

Well, we are almost an hour into the afternoon session, Saleem continues to bowl, and he has picked up Mohammed Siraj. The Afghan continues to chip away with wickets; it is his sixth one. It was a fuller delivery which he tried to smash into the mid-wicket and lost his stumps. He did play a few lovely cut shots, Siraj, but eventually got out. Kuldeep Yadav is the new batter in. He is not someone who will go after the bowling, or is it something which is his stronger area? Washington Sundar might have to do the bulk of the work from here on interms of scoring.

IND vs AFG Live Score: India 521/7 after 119.1 overs vs Afghanistan

Interesting move this from India, they have sent in Mohammed Siraj in front of Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep has shown the credentials in the past that he can bat, but it seems like the Indian side thinks otherwise. Meanwhile, Washington Sundar at the other end continues on his merry way. Kuldeep Yadav too is padded up, so there are no signs of India looking for declaration yet in this game, and Afghanistan are going through a bit of motions. They are getting wickets, but India is also stringing up nice partnerships. A few tweaks in tactics and bowling skills, Afghanistan will be a better outfit when they face India next time in this format of the game.

ND vs AFG Live Score: India 510/7 after 116.5 overs vs Afghanistan

Afghanistan, through the innings, have been ok to let the singles away. Which is something as a tactic they have to think about. In and out fields are definitely a thing in modern cricket, but they have to identify points where they need to cut down those singles. For instance, during the morning session, there was a drive from Gill, which yielded a single; a fielder close in with a slip might create a bit of doubt. As we update, Saleem has picked up five wickets, and it is Suthar who drove one rashly and edged it to the keeper. What a superb spell this is from the bowler. He kept his length right through this innings.

IND vs AFG Live Score: India 505/6 after 115 overs vs Afghanistan

Saleem continues to bowl after lunch for Afghanistan. He bowled seven overs in the morning session. Shahidi has been turning to him time and again, as he has been the best bowler, but when does Shahidi think about his management? There might be a case where Afghanistan might have to come again later at some point in this innings to bowl. Follow-on is not a particularly popular choice that captains make these days. Also, the wicket has shown a bit of low bounce in the last few overs. We have not seen anything climb up but a lot are keeping low which will bring Indian pacers into the picture espically Siraj who might look to hit stump-to-stump.

IND vs AFG Live Score: India 502/6 after 112.5 overs vs Afghanistan

Washington Sundar is playing a nice hand here. He has gotten into his 20s and is looking solid. He has batted in far harsher conditions and bailed India out of trouble on many occasions. Today, the conditions are good to bat on, and he can get a good 80 or so if the batters at the other end do support his cause. He has Kuldeep Yadav to come next, who can handle himself. As we update, Manav Suthar pulled off an extraordinary shot, dancing down the track, he hit an inside-out shot for a six. Well seems like he is quite a capable batter, this Manav Suthar.

IND vs AFG Live Score: Welcome back!

Well, we are back for the afternoon session. This is a session more about India than Afghanistan. What the hosts want to do is bat at a normal tempo or take a few more chances to get to that 550 quickly and look for a declaration. There is still a lot of time left in the game, but all of these players are coming back off a gruelling IPL.

India vs Afghanistan live: Shreyas Iyer named India’s new T20I captain, replaces Suryakumar Yadav

Shreyas Iyer was named India’s new T20I captain on Saturday, replacing Suryakumar Yadav in the role. The 31-year-old’s appointment was announced by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia and India’s chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar in Mumbai on Saturday. The pair also notably announced the inclusion of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for India’s upcoming T20I series in Ireland and England.

Tilak Varma has been made the new vice-captain in the shortest format. Iyer’s first assignment as captain will be to lead India in the two-match T20I series against Ireland in Belfast on June 26 and 28. This will be followed by a five-match T20I series against England, starting in Chester-le-Street on July 1. (Read more Sandeep Dwivedi)

India vs Afghanistan live: Shreyas Iyer: The captain India kept waiting

India have won two T20 World Cups since Shreyas Iyer last played a T20 international. He watched both from outside, not in disgrace, not after a public falling out, but in a kind of administrative limbo that Indian cricket occasionally inflicts on players it cannot quite place. Now, in a sudden turn of events, Iyer has not just been recalled to the side but also named T20 captain, replacing the World T20-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav.

In those two and a half years, Iyer built what may be the strongest leadership CV in Indian T20 cricket. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title in 2024, finishing top of the table and winning the final by eight wickets. “I personally felt I didn’t get the recognition I wanted after winning the IPL,” he said. “But at the end of the day, as long as you have self-integrity and you keep doing the right things when no one is watching, that is more important.” He didn’t name anyone. (Read more from Sriram Veera)

India vs Afghanistan live: India 368/3: Gill, Rahul tons put Afghanistan to the sword on Day 1

By the time Zia Ur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai skimmed through their first overs of the day against Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, it was amply clear that the pitch and the seamers could not have startled the Indian openers.

Playing a Test match in the burning June heat at a new northern venue is a relatively new experience for the Indian unit, too. But the feeling of facing Test thoroughbreds for days is much more stifling for Afghanistan. An unhelpful bowling surface, though, isn't a new feeling for Rahman and his teammates. They dwell on nature-proof cement slabs day in and day out back home. (Read more from lalith Kalidas)

India vs Afghanistan live: India 475/6 at lunch vs Afghanistan in Mullanpur

Well, there is a lunch break; it is a shared session. Saleem was fabulous with his bowling for Afghanistan with the second new ball. He consistently hit the hard lengths and got the ball to nip either way. Omarzai, too, was brilliant, but poor DRS calls meant he could not get his two wickets. As far as India goes, Dhruv Jurel's wicket is a bit of a soft dismissal and could have been avoided. Shubman Gill drove on the up, and Rishabh Pant tried to do a Pant by mistiming an aggressive shot. All in all, an intriguing passage of Test cricket. Do join us for the noon session after the break.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 470/6 (108 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

We are closing in on lunch break here. Afghanistan would be happy with the way this session went for them. It could have gone very ugly for them despite the errors they made, but they have managed to pick up three wickets in this session. India post lunch session might have a score in their mind for declaration.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 462/6 (105.5 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

Well, not long ago, when declaring the name of the game within the span of 15-20 minutes, India had lost three quick wickets, which is the fickle nature of Test cricket. Sundar and Suthar are the batters in. Sundar will definitely play his way of taking his time at least initially, but after that, he might change gears depending on who he is batting with. One thing, though, with Sundar, which is a scope of improvement, is his rotation of strike. Sometimes in the past, he has got himself stuck at one end of the crease, and his inability to rotate strike has affected the rhythms of the partnership.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 456/6 (103 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

Dhruv Jurel has fallen here. It was a bit of nothing leave from him. Saleem, once again hitting that good length which is ideal for this pitch, made the ball come back in with the angle. It was a poor leave anyway, Jurel would look at it once he walks back into the dressing room. Bowler coming from over the wicket and looking to leave one which will come in with the angle, poor judgment from the batter. As we update, Rishabh Pant is gone. Shahidi is the bowler who has got the wicket. He danced down the track and tried to hit it for a six, but could only get to a long-off fielder who came in quite a bit to complete the catch.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 448/4 (101.3 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

The new ball is getting older now. Afghanistan are yet again looking a bit short on ideas on how to create breakthroughs. Indians are getting singles with ease. Which is something they can think about during the lunch break. If they can string on a few tight overs, this Indian side or any modern Test batter is such that they will itch to go for that big shot. On flat wickets, that is one way of picking wickets. Those tight overs can come by shutting off one side of the ground and keeping bowling at one line. That will frustrate the likes of Pant, who wants to assert his dominance from time to time in the game.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 440/4 (99.5 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

Rishabh Pant has breezed through his innings pretty nicely. He had that initial issue with a review, but once again, he has settled in nicely. He has an opportunity to get a century here. He has been notoriously known to get frequently in the 90s does Pant. Well, today he can take as long as he wants; the conditions are such. Also, it is interesting to see that India has opted to go with two wicket-keepers it is very likely that Pant is going to keep, but it just might be one of those audition things for the series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand if they want to give themselves another bowling option in Nitish Kumar Reddy later on, more spicier surfaces.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 426/4 (97.5 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

Dhruv Jurel has walked in and started with a nice, authentic pull shot. Important innings for Jurel after scoring that century against the West Indies in Ahmedabad, he struggled to score runs against South Africa. Running here will do him a world of good. India will travel to Sri Lanka next for the Test series, which will present its own challenges. A good warm-up game of sorts this for Jurel, with not a lot at stake in terms of the series being on the line or WTC. The wicket too is pretty flat. If he can get himself in, then runs are there to be had with the bowlers too, being as tired as they are.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 420/4 (96 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

Saleem Safi gets his third wicket, and it is Shubman Gill. That was a perfect length and beautiful line. Gill tried to drive the ball on up, which in hindsight was not a good shot since the ball was still relatively new, but India are on a move in the last 15 minutes or so. Drinks have been taken now by India, something to cheer about for Afghanistan in the morning. They have had a couple of chances but did not take the reviews, hence Pant and Gill extended their partnership. Dhruv Jurel is the new batter in. His approach will dictate what India is looking to do and why they are willing to think about a declaration.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 412/3 (94.1 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

India has gone past 400 now. This is a massive total; they had their moments this morning, but now it seems like it is gone, and the ball is now coming nicely onto the bat. Now it is going into the territory of waiting for the declaration point. Today might be a case for India of more about runs rather than time because they are scoring at a pretty good clip. They will want to wait for the surface to deteriorate a little more, which will happen eventually at some point. Maybe we might start to see a bit of surface come off later in the afternoon or evening, and India might consider putting Afghanistan into bat.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 398/3 (92 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

Gurbaz has to play a key part when it comes to reviews. In a white-ball game, the pacing is different; the game flies by pretty quickly, but this red-ball game is a different kettle of fish, and they might be mentally fatigued a bit. They do not play a lot of these games, and at the international level, they hardly get any exposure, but these are the basic things they just cannot get it wrong. The skill part, the more they play, the better they develop. But not bowling no-balls, bowling at a line, and the keeper helping with reviews are the errors teams just cannot afford to make, as it will make them pay big time.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 389/3 (90.4 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

Well, reviews come to haunt Afghanistan again. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are the benefactors. These are the kind of things they definitely need to avoid, especially when they want to compete at the highest level. An edge from Pant, which the bowler was not confident enough, and Gurbaz said it might be a pad, and then it was Gill who got trapped in front, and they have opted not to take the review. You've got to feel for Omarzai; it was a fabulous over from him. Suddenly, he seems to have found a spring in his step with this new ball. He is hitting that hard length in good areas. This is the way to go here.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 377/3 (88.2 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

The new ball has finally been taken from Afghanistan, and there is a slight bit of skidding on the surface. It might have to do with a new hard seam. Afghanistan need to get their line right. They are bowling fuller deliveries, which is good, but they are not picking the right line. They have to be around that off-stump and fourth-stump line consistently to create trouble for both these batters. A couple of drives may concceded boundaries, but they also present the opportunity of a wicket for the visitors. This were experince has to come in, and the more they play, the better they will get at it.

India vs Afghanistan live: IND 376/3 (86.4 overs) vs AFG in Mullanpur

We are done with the opening over. Afghanistan hasn't taken the new ball; they are persisting with the older one, which is unusual. This is the best opportunity for them to create a few inroads. It might be one of those things where the skipper wants his faster bowlers to warm up a bit. But those two overs or three overs will let the batters settle in. If they actually wanted to keep the older ball, they could have gone with a spinner from the other end, but they are going with two seamers from either end. Also, it will be interesting to see how India will play today.

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: Let's go!

The umpires are walking into the middle; it is another bright day here in Mullanpur. Conditions will continue to be conducive for batting today. But Afghanistan's best chance is with that new ball with morning moisture in the wicket. If that bus misses out, they have to spend a long day out in the heat yet again today.

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: Shubman Gill, KL Rahul score centuries against Afghanistan in one-off Test

India skipper Shubman Gill slammed his 11th Test century on the opening day of India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan on Saturday at Mullanpur. The India captain took 138 deliveries in an innings studded with 11 fours and 1 sixe to get to his milestone.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul also scored his 12th Test ton before falling to Rahman Sharifi in the third session. (Read more)

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: ‘It gives so much freedom when coach..’: Sai Sudharsan on Gambhir backing him

On the eve of the one-off Test between Indian and Afghanistan at Mullanpur, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir had spoken about giving the Indian number three batsman Sai Sudharsan an extended run and showing faith in him as India’s number three. In the six Test matches prior to Saturday’s Test, Sudharsan had scored 307 runs at an average of 27.45 runs in 11 innings and the 24-year-old hit his third half-century in Tests with his knock of 81 runs against Afghanistan on Saturday. Sudharsan spoke about how having the backing of the head coach gives a player like so much ‘freedom’ and how it also takes the mind off from thinking about playing the next game or not. (Read more from Nitin Sharma)

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: The lone Afghan fan in the stands has friends on the field

On his way to the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium in Mullanpur on Saturday morning, Khial Mohammad told his cab driver something worth remembering. Afghanistan, he said, stands very little chance against India. But the players will give their best. They always do.

Mohammad had come alone. Of the 2,000-odd fans inside the ground, he was the only one waving an Afghanistan flag, standing in the harsh summer sun in the Harbhajan Singh pavilion. By afternoon, four other Afghan fans had trickled in to other parts of the ground. Until then, it was just him. (Read more from Nitin Sharma)

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: KL Rahul after scoring ton

(Will the pitch take more turn or will it get better for batting?) No, I think it will assist a bit of good bowling. I think even the fast bowlers will be in the game because the cracks are opening up and the soil is not really hard. It's a loose kind of soil on top. So I think there will be a lot of uneven bounce going ahead in the game. Anyone who can bowl over the top as a spinner and vary their pace and keep the wickets in play, I think they'll find it rewarding and there will definitely be some help. There's a bit of rough as well. So Washi (Washington Sundar) and Manav (Suthar), if they... bowling to right-handers and left-handers respectively, I think the rough will be in play and hopefully we can build that pressure and put the balls in the right areas and get some wickets early on and put pressure on them.

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: KL Rahul after scoring ton

(Did you feel the urge to play few shots coming from the IPL?) Yeah, I did. I mean, but, I don't think it's a bad thing. That is something that I was telling myself as well that because there's not so much time between the last game that we played, which was T20 cricket for a couple of months and then coming straight into this, sometimes you sit and overanalyze and try and play completely differently to T20 cricket. But something that I consciously tried was to not restrict my shots, but also be be aware of what kind of shots I can play on this wicket against what kind of bowlers. So that's something that I thought about in the last week leading up to this Test match. And yeah, that's what I tried to do. And in the morning I think I did play a few shots more than what I would have played ideally, but yeah, it didn't make me frustrated or angry at myself. I was okay with playing shots and playing to the merit of the ball. That's what I was trying to do more.

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: KL Rahul after scoring ton

(Pleased with your hundred?) Yeah, I'm really happy that I could get some time in the middle and make that switch from T20 to Test cricket in a couple of days' time. And yeah, that was the most pleasing thing. But yeah, really hot, so there wasn't much time for me to feel happy or satisfied with the way I batted. I was just exhausted by the end of it. (Was the ball coming on in the first session?) No, it wasn't coming on at all. It was a really slow and low sort of wicket, which we, we did expect a few days of training here and even at the back. It was pretty similar to this. So got a few good sessions in and yeah, I had to make that switch and get used to spending time in the middle and get used to letting the ball come to you and get your test game plan sorted in your head. So yeah, the few days that we spent here really helped and yeah, I just carried that same training into the game and just enjoyed being out in the middle and playing some good old Test cricket.

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: Sai Sudharsan answers the call, for now

Gautam Gambhir gave a comprehensive vote of confidence in the pre-match press conference to Sai Sudharsan, stating that the 24-year-old hasn't got a fair chance at No.3 and will be given a good run to prove himself. He also received some flack for pointing out Sudharsan's incredible form this year in the IPL but the latter has answered the call to a certain extent on Day 1 of this Test. Sudharsan breezed along smoothly after Yashasvi Jaiswal fell halfway through the first session and scored 81 in 104 balls.

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: A reminder of the playing XIs

Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Afsar Zazai(w), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, Mohammad Saleem Safi

India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: A reminder of the playing XIs

Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Afsar Zazai(w), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, Mohammad Saleem Safi

India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 2 Live: Hello and welcome!

India put on a show yesterday with the bat, with KL Rahul and Shubman Gill leading the way. The latter will be continuing his knock today, having walked back yesterday on 103 off 143 balls. He had Rishabh Pant at the other end on 50 off 70. Stay tuned for more updates.

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