India’s young guns grab the chance with both hands

After back-to-back defeats against South Africa at home last November, a thumping win against Afghanistan — India’s biggest by an innings in Test history — was just the sort of hassle-free return to the five-day version that a young team under Shubman Gill needed.

As head coach Gautam Gambhir stressed in his pre-match media briefing, this is a side still in the throes of transition after the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma 12 months ago.

“The actual transition happened from the England tour. It has just been nine Tests. A majority of these boys have played less than 30 Tests,” Gambhir would assert in his typically fiery tone on the eve of the clash.

In such a scenario, every Test counts as an opportunity for the young players to learn more about the nuances of the game and iron out their chinks.

Sai Sudharsan is a case in point. Having shown a frailty to getting caught on the on-side on his first tour of England last year, a plan of attack that was new to him by his own admission, the No. 3 batter exhibited far greater control with his wristy flicks in the just-concluded Test.

Despite Gambhir’s implicit backing in the lead-up, a low score here for the southpaw would have led to further scrutiny about a batting average languishing in the low 30s after 12 innings. By making 81 against the Afghans, the 24-year-old has given himself a bit of breathing space. It should perturb him nevertheless that this is the second time he has squandered a three-figure score there for the taking — he was dismissed on 87 against West Indies in Delhi last October.

For Rishabh Pant, too, this was an important outing. After a disastrous IPL that ended with his resignation as Lucknow Super Giants skipper, the wicketkeeper utilised the safeguard of returning to his strongest format to rediscover his sprightly nature. He made 81 entertaining runs, and offered his characteristic wisecracks to the Afghanistan batters from behind the stumps.

The biggest positive, of course, was the seven-wicket match haul of debutant Manav Suthar. The 23-year-old’s control over length and craft while extracting prodigious turn were most impressive.

With Gambhir stating that India would be taking four spinners on the tour of Sri Lanka in August, Manav is poised to accompany Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav to the island nation. All four will have to be in prime form in a series where spin will reign supreme.