“We did not take Afghanistan lightly. Credit to Afghanistan. Their seamers bowled really well, especially in the third session yesterday and I am sure they will go a long way.” - India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane

Great gesture from Rahane, invites the Afghan players to join in as the Indian team poses with the trophy.

“I want to congratulate Afghanistan for making it to this level. Once they play other sides and start winning, they will get confidence. It’s a big boost for their country.” - MoM Shikhar Dhawan

“We were surprised with the match ending in two days because our team is good. Disappointed with the batting, but it is good for the future. We have a lot of time and camps to work on our weaknesses.” - Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai.

“Everyone was bowling well upfront. The seamers set the tone and I was just bowling in my areas. In IPL when we played here, the ball was turning like a rank-turner, but today’s wicket was very flat and I was not getting turn. Me and Ashwin were talking about restricting them. We just looked to keep it simple.” - India spinner Ravindra Jadeja.

India win by an innings and 262 runs. All it took is two days.
Afghanistan’s bowlers showed some character in the final session of the first day, but their batsmen could not put up much of a fight as they were bowled out twice in a span of two sessions. India’s bowlers did not have to break much sweat as they outwitted their opponents with ease. The gulf between the two teams was quite telling in the end as the Afghans struggled to form partnerships through the two innings.

Afghanistan 103 all out (f/o) in 38.4 overs
WICKET! Ashwin bowls out the last man. Wafadar shouldered his arms after misreading the ball completely to hand the bowler his first wicket of the innings.
Wafadar b Ashwin 0 (7b)

After 36 overs, AFG 98/9 f/o (Shahidi 31*; Jadeja 8-2-17-4)
WICKET! Jadeja picks up his fourth. Mujeeb looks for a slog but hits it straight to mid-on. India just one wicket away now.
Mujeeb c Umesh b Jadeja 3 (8b)

After 35 overs, AFG 96/8 f/o (Shahidi 30*, Mujeeb 2*)
Shahidi hangs in there. delaying the inevitable for now. 5.30pm IST is the scheduled close of play today. If another wicket were to fall by then the play could be extended by half an hour.

After 33 overs, AFG 87/8 f/o (Shahidi 21*; Ishant 6-2-9-2)
WICKET! Ishant strikes! Drills in a fine yorker. Ahmadzai can’t dig it out and is bowled. India now need another two wickets to seal victory.
Ahmadzai b Ishant 1 (15b)

Most wickets in a day in India
21* India vs Afghanistan, Bengaluru 2018 (Day 2)
20 India vs Australia, Mumbai 2004 (Day 3)
20 India vs South Africa, Nagpur 2015 (Day 2)

After 30 overs, AFG 82/7 f/o (Jadeja 5-2-12-3)
WICKET! Jadeja gets his third wicket! Drills in a quicker one. The ball darts in, Rashid looks to cut but edges it onto the stumps. India three wickets away from victory.
Rashid b Jadeja 12 (9b 1x4)

After 26 overs, AFG 66/6 (Jadeja 3-1-5-2)
WICKET! Jadeja strikes again. Zazai bowled. He pitches it on middle and gets it to turn enough to hit the top of off stump. The batsman tried to defend the but missed the turn completely. Afghanistan six down.
Zazai b Jadeja 1 (9b)

After 24 overs, AFG 61/5 (Jadeja 2-1-1-1)
WICKET! Jadeja hands the breakthrough. Stanikzai loses his patience. Goes for an expansive shot against the turn. It balloons in the air. Dhawan completes an easy catch. The dismissal breaks a 37-run stand between Stanikzai and Shahidi.
Stanikzai c Dhawan b Jadeja 25 (58b 4x4 1x6)

After 23 overs, AFG 61/4 (Stanikzai 25*, Shahidi 12*)
Spin from both ends now. Ashwin and Jadeja are bowling in tandem. So, far the Afghanistan batsmen seem to be on top of things. They are blocking everything to frustrate the Indian bowlers.

After 19 overs, AFG 52/4 (Stanikzai 21*, Shahidi 7*)
Stanikzai and Shahidi have now added 28 runs for the fifth wicket, beats the 21-run stand of Wafadar and Mujeeb in Afghanistan in the first innings. They will want the partnership to grow further if they are to pull off a dramatic turnaround.

After 17 overs, AFG 44/4 f/o (Stanikzai 17, Shahidi 3*)
It’s been 10 overs now since a wicket has fallen in the innings. Stanikzai and Shahidi have now added 20 runs for the fifth wicket. Meanwhile, the umpires are not happy with the ball, seems to have been disfigured a bit.

After 14 overs, AFG 39/4 f/o (Stanikzai 12*, Shahidi 3*)
Afghanistan have now not lost a wicket in seven overs. Stanikzai and Shahidi are looking to apply themselves and have shown some application with their defence.

After 10 overs, AFG 38/4 f/o (Stanikzai 11*, Shahidi 3*)
Ashwin gets smashed for six by Stanikzai. Some signs of aggression. The Afghan skipper, though, will want to build a partnership here. If the first innings is any indication, the chances of that happening are very low.

After 9 overs, AFG 30/4 f/o (Stanikzai 4*, Shahidi 2*)
Umesh and Ishant finish impressive opening spells. While the former bagged three wickets, while the latter came away with one. They have delivered in both innings now. Skipper Rahane would be quite pleased.

After 7 overs, AFG 24/4 f/o (Ishant 4-1-7-1)
WICKET! Afghanistan now four down. Rahane picks up a neat catch at short midwicket off Ishant as the batsman fails to keep the ball on the ground.
Shah c Rahane b Ishant 4 (6b)

After 6 overs, AFG 22/3 f/o (Umesh 3-0-13-3)
WICKET! Afghanistan lose their third. Umesh strikes again. Nabi looks to play across the line and misses. He’s struck on the pads, but the umpire turns down the appeal. DRS though reveals the ball would have struck the leg stump.
Nabi lbw Umesh 0 (4b)

After 5 overs, AFG 22/2 f/o (Shah 2*, Nabi 0*)
WICKET! Ahmadi departs. Umesh gets his second of the innings. The ball is pitched outside off and moves just a bit to deceive the batsman, who’s already committed to the shot. Dhawan makes no mistake in the slips.
Ahmadi c Dhawan b Umesh 3 (11b)

After 4 overs, AFG 19/1 f/o (Umesh 2-0-13-1)
WICKET! Umesh strikes! Shahzad plays a lazy shot and is caught behind. Pitched just outside off. The batsman does not move his feet at all and only manages an outside edge.
Shahzad c Karthik b Yadav 13 (17b 3x4)

After 3 overs, AFG 11/0 f/o (Ishant 2-1-2-0, Umesh 1-0-5-0)
There’s not much of a difference in the Afghanistan openers in the second innings. Defence is clearly not their forte. Playing shots comes naturally to them, and both Shahzad and Ahmadi aren’t shying away from coming onto the front foot and jabbing at the deliveries.

After 2 overs, AFG 9/0 f/o (Shahzad 4*, Ahmadi 1*)
Shahzad’s defensive game lasted for all but one over. He’s back to fending for deliveries pitched outside off. He nearly gets out as the ball just goes over the gully fielder’s head.

After 1 over, AFG 0/0 f/o (Shahzad 0*, Ahmadi 0*)
Shahzad plays out the first over from Ishant as Afghanistan follow on. The message seems to be to produced a better defensive game. The batsman, known more for his big hitting, either blocks or leaves the deliveries pitched away from the stumps.

Afghanistan just could not get a partnership going. They were poor in their technique. They were late into their defensive shots and just weren’t patient enough. Credit to India’s bowlers who were clinical in their approach. After the pacers rocked the top-order, Ashwin came into his own with four wickets. Jadeja also chipped in with a couple of wickets. But, it was a terrific run-out from Hardik Pandya that started it all. It all-rounder has had quite a day, having scored an impressive 71 that propelled India to a total of 474. India have enforced the follow on.

AFG 109 all out in 27.5 overs.
WICKET! Mujeeb is the last man to depart. Jadeja has him stumped. He finishes with two wickets.
Mujeeb st Karthik b Jadeja 15 (9b 2x4 1x6)

After 27 overs, AFG 95/9 (Ashwin 8-1-27-4)
WICKET! Afghanistan nine down! Nabi holes out off Ashwin. Ishant struggles to judge the catch but pulls it off eventually.
Nabi c Ishant b Ashwin 24 (44b 4x4)

WICKET! Ashwin gets another one. Ahmadzai plays a loose shot as the bowler delivers a carrom ball. The batsman looks to hit it straight but it ends up in the hands of the fielder at backward point.
Ahmadzai c Jadeja b Ashwin 0 (9b)

After 22 overs, AFG 78/7 (Nabi 14*, Ahmadzai 0*)
WICKET! Jadeja strikes with his second delivery of the game! Rashid plays a nothing shot. The ball is pitch short and wide. The batsman looks to smash it through off, but can’t keep it down. He hits it straight into the hands of the fielder at point.
Rashid c Umesh b Jadeja 7 (14b 1x4)

After 19 overs, AFG 69/6 (Rashid 6*, Nabi 6*)
While their bowling in Tests did come around eventually, the batting has a long way to go. Defence is key in Tests, but that has let the visitors down today. Credit to India’s bowlers who have been clinical so far.

After 17 overs, AFG 59/6 (Ashwin 3-1-7-2)
WICKET! Afghanistan six down! Ashwin pitches it on off and gets it to come in. Shahidi rocks on his back foot to fend off the ball, but fails to get the bat down in time. The fielding side appeal for an LBW and the umpire raises the finger. There’s a review, but there’s not doubt.
Shahidi lbw Ashwin 11 (24b 2x4)

After 13 overs, AFG 50/5 (Ashwin 1-1-0-1)
WICKET! Ashwin strikes in his first over! Stanikzai bamboozled completely. Floats it outside off and gets it to turn through the batsman’s defences and onto the stumps. Afghanistan in all sorts of trouble.
Stanikzai b Ashwin 11 (14b 2x4)

After 11 overs, AFG 46/4 (Stanikzai 11*, Shahidi 0*)
Skipper Stanikzai the last hope for Afghanistan. He has Shahidi for company in the middle. The two will need to get a partnership going. The only respite for them is that the frontline pacers are done with their opening spells.

After 10 overs, AFG 44/4 (Ishant 5-0-28-2)
WICKET! MIddle stump goes for a walk as Ishant does it again! He once again gets the ball to come back into the batsman, this time Zazai. He looks to jab at it but misses it completely.
Zazai b Ishant 6 (10b 1x4)

After 9 overs, AFG 35/3 (Umesh 5-1-16-1)
WICKET! Umesh strikes again! His 100th wicket in Tests. Shah plays across the line to a delivery pitched on middle. He misses it and is struck plumb in front.
Shah lbw Umesh 14 (15b 2x4)

After 7 overs, AFG 28/2 (Umesh 4-0-16-0, Ishant 3-0-12-1)
The India pacers are making the new ball talk. Afghanistan were unlucky with the run-out early on, but the bowling has been terrific so far.

WICKET! Ahmadi bowled! Ishant knocks the middle stump off. Pitches it outside off and gets it to move back in. The batsman looks to block it out, but it goes through his defences and onto the stumps.
Ahmadi b Sharma 1 (8b)

WICKET! Pandya runs Shahzad out! The batsman looks to steal a run after nudging the ball towards points. The fielder runs in and completes the throw in one quick motion. It’s a direct hit and Shahzad is no where close to covering his ground. Afghanistan lose their first wicket.
Shahzad run out 14 (18b 3x4)

After 3 overs, AFG 11/0 (Shahzad 10*, Ahmadi 1*)
Umesh seems fired up for the challenge. Has bowled a nagging line just outside the off-stump to the Afghanistan openers. Bowling in fast and has been accurate even as Ishant has sprayed it a bit at the other end.

After 2 overs, AFG 10/0 (Shahzad 9*, Ahmadi 1*)
Defence will be key for the Afghan batsmen today. A true test of their batting. So far, the openers have kept their head down and looked to block rather than chasing expansive shots. There have been a few streaky shots from Shahzad, but that’s his natural game.

After 1 over, Afghanistan 8/0 (Shahzad 8*, Ahmadi 0*)
Mohammad Shahzad gets Afghanistan off the mark with a streaky boundary between gully and backward point off Umesh. He nearly edges the ball onto the stumps a few deliveries later, but that too goes to the boundary.

After the middle-order collapse in the final session of Day 1, India came back strongly in the morning on Day 2. They Hardik Pandya to thank for much of the effort. The all-rounder denied Afghanistan an early inroad despite Ashwin’s dismissal. He went on to score an impressive half-century. Fortune too favoured the hosts as Jadeja got a reprieve off the first ball he faced. Pandya-Jadeja shared a fruitful partnership to put India on course for a big total.

At Lunch, IND 474 all out in 104.5 overs.
WICKET! Ishant is the last man to depart. Rashid gets a second wicket. The batsman looks to sweep and misses it. He’s struck on the pad. The bowler appeals and the umpire raises the finger. Ishant reviews, but there’s no doubt it’s out.
Ishant lbw Rashid 8 (13b 1x4)

After 103 overs, IND 466/9 (Ishant 6*, Umesh 20*)
Rashid Khan has now bowled 34 overs and conceded 152 runs for one wicket. He nearly had Umesh Yadav holed out in the deep. But the fielder had to throw the ball back in the field of play just before his momentum took him over the boundary rope. Saved five runs in the end.

After 102 overs, IND 463/9 (Ishant 5*, Umesh 18*)
450 up for India! Umesh smashes two sixes and a boundary to take India past the 450-run mark. Nothing left for the tailenders to do but add a few more before taking the ball in their own hands.

After 100 overs, IND 440/9 (Ishant 0*, Umesh 0*)
WICKET! Hardik gone! Wafadar drills it in short. The batsman looks to play it over the keeper’s head, but instead plays it straight into his hands.
Pandya c Zazai b Wafadar 71 (94b 10x4)

After 99 overs, IND 436/8 (Hardik 67*, Ishant 0*)
WICKET! Jadeja holes out. Nabi bowls it nice and slow. Jadeja doesn’t hold back and looks to clear long on. He smashes it high but can’t get the distance and is caught out.
Jadeja c Shah b Nabi 20 (31b 1x4 1x6)

After 98 overs, IND 434/7 (Hardik 66*, Jadeja 19*)
Poor fielding and poor catching has added to Afghanistan’s woes this morning. The stresses of Test cricket have caught up to them. That dropped catch of Jadeja has hurt them. The decision to not take the second new ball early in the morning has also backfired.

After 97 overs, IND 418/7 (Hardik 52*, Jadeja 18*)
50 up for Hardik! A fine innings from the all-rounder. He came at a time with India in bit of trouble. Has calmly weathered the storm and put India back on top. He will want to convert this into a big score and take his side to a mammoth total.

After 96 overs, IND 411/7 (Hardik 46*, Jadeja 17*)
Afghanistan going through the motions here. They don’t seem to have a ploy to break this stand between Hardik and Jadeja. The duo has now added 42 runs for the eighth wicket.

After 95 overs, IND 407/7 (Hardik 45*, Jadeja 14*)
400 up for India! Hardik-Jadeja have now added 31 runs for the eighth wicket wicket. While the former has taken the charge, Jadeja has supported him sell after his early reprieve. If the two capitalise on the start a 500-plus score would be an easy target from here on.

After 89 overs, IND 389/7 (Hardik 37*, Jadeja 4*)
Pandya motoring along well. He smashes Rashid for three boundaries as India near the 400-run mark. Afghanistan have refused to take the second new ball, choosing to give their spinners a chance to utilise the old ball. Hardik, though, is playing the spinners well so far.

After 86 overs, IND 373/7 (Hardik 21*, Jadeja 4*)
DROPPED! Jadeja gets a reprieve first ball! Ahmadzai nearly had his second wicket in as many balls. The keeper, though, can’t hold in to the ball that came off the batsman’e outside edge. It rolls on towards the boundary to add insult to injury.

WICKET! Afghanistan strike with the old ball! Ashwin gets an under-edge and is caught behind off Ahmadzai. The bowler pitches it outside off, it stays low, but Ashwin slashes at it but can’t middle it.
Ashwin c Zazai b Ahmadzai 18 (39b 1x4)

After 84 overs, IND: 364/6 (Hardik 20*, Ashwin 14*)
Persisting with the old ball almost paying dividends for the visitors. Ahmadzai gets close to Pandya’s outside edge twice in the over.

After 81 overs, IND 356/6 (Hardik 16*, Ashwin 10*)
350 up for India! Hardik-Ashwin have begun positively this morning. The second new ball is due, will be interesting to see if Afghanistan go for the new ball or stick to the older one and give their spinners some space to target the Indian lower order.

After 79 overs, IND 349/6 (Hardik 11*, Ashwin 8*)
Two runs come off the first over of Day 2. Rashid looks far better this morning than how he performed early yesterday. He’s keeping it simple instead of trying a number of variations, which had proved counter-productive in the morning session.

Afghanistan players marking the Eid festivities in their traditional attire ahead the second day’s play at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.

Photo: Sportzpics

Afghanistan were handed a reality check early on Day 1. They, however, overcame the early nerves of the historic Test debut and exposed India’s batting frailties in the final session. (Read here).

09:00 am: Good morning, all. After Shikhar Dhawan launched the Indian innings with a century before Lunch, it seemed like the hosts were heading towards a huge score against first-timers Afghanistan. The Murali Vijay-KL Rahul stand for the second wicket (112 runs) ensured India were on the right track to accomplish this. But a late collapse in the day of the middle order has given a bit of hope for Afghanistan to come back into this Test. Let’s find out how much more can Ajinkya Rahane’s men score on day 2.