Afghanistan 113/5 vs India in Mullanpur at Stumps

India vs Afghanistan live score: Afghanistan 113/5 vs India in Mullanpur at Stumps

Manav Suthar has picked up his third wicket, and it was Asfar who tried to work the ball on the leg-side and got the leading edge, and the left-arm spinner completed the catch. It has been a fabulous spell from the left-arm spinner. He has imparted revolutions on the ball and has managed to beat batters in the air. An art not so common these days. A bright future does await him. As far as Afghanistan goes, they have had starts, and they need to convert them into scores. Again, it comes down to the lack of basics. A good side would have made India pay on this flat track once the batters got starts. That's it from us, do join us tomorrow for our coverage of Day 3.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 113/4 (39.2 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

We are coming into the closing stages of play. It has been a tidy bowling performance from India. Suthar has been the pick of the bowlers alongside Prasidh Krishna. If anything, Kuldeep is a slight concern because it does seem like a similar problem he had in the past that has resurfaced today on this pitch. He will be hoping to do something different tomorrow.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 111/4 (36.5 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Manav Suthar has come back into the attack here. Sundar did not do anything wrong, but he did not look penetrative enough, and more than anything, he was looking to bowl quicker and flatter, which is not the need of the hour. At this time, in the end, Gill would want his bowlers to go full throttle to pick wickets. Nevertheless, Suthar has come back in after a short break, which might give a spring in his step for the 3-4 overs he is going to bowl. As we update, Sundar has come in from the other end, which is a bit of a different move from Gill, given how well Krishna was bowling and troubling the batters.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 102/4 (34 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Krishna has come back and picked up the wicket of Shahidi. Well, more than anything, it seems like the doubt of the shorter ball did him. He was batting for a delivery higher than where it eventually ended up. It hit the pads, and it was a pretty easy decision for the umpire to make. Good bowling this from Krishna has found that ideal length for the surface, where he has not been too fuller, which is what Siraj did in that first spell and has not been too short. With 30 minutes to go, it is a nightmare for the new batters to come in and face this attack. Asfar is the batter who has come in.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 94/3 (32 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Washington Sundar is the new bowler who has come into the attack. He has replaced Manav Suthar, who was quite superb. There is a left-hander at the crease, and as soon as he came in, there was an appeal for LBW, which the umpire deemed as out, but the batter reviewed immediately to find out the ball hit the bat first. So Shaihidi is there, although he has looked scratchy, he managed to fight the Afghan batter. His ODI batting innings tend to see a similar pattern. As we update, Mohammed Siraj has been given a break here, and Prasidh Krishna has been brought into the attack.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 93/3 (28 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Suthar has bowled 13 overs now. Brilliant it is from the left-arm spinner, he has not only been able to keep the pace up but also has been accurate through his spell and continues to threaten both the edges of the batters. It will be interesting to see how he holds up through the Test match. The way he is bowling, he does have the promise of becoming a great prospect in the indian conditions. Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj continues to give his hundred per cent at the other end. He has looked to bounce Shahidi, which has created a bit of doubt in the mind of the Afghan skipper.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 88/3 (28 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

We have had a change of ball here seems like the umpires were not happy with something, and it did not meet the parameters which it was supposed to meet as well. Whenever there is a change in the cricket ball, the momentum tends to shift. While there is no logical reasoning, it is one of those cricketing things. Regardless, India has been bowling pretty well in this game, and they had to create wickets, and that is what they have been doing. Rahmat Shah, though, since coming in, has shown some resistance. He is a talisman in this batting. India would want to get him before the end of play today.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 82/3 (26.4 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Mohammed Siraj has come back into the attack and starts with a bumper to Shahidi. This might be the ploy India will use for a bit with Shahidi. This is interesting, one hour coming up on how India will look to go for breakthroughs. Suthar has clearly been the standout bowler, but he cannot bowl forever; at some point, Gill will have to give Suthar a break. Or maybe after a couple more overs, we might see Kuldeep swap ends. But as of now, what is the most important thing? The mode of dismissal Siraj is looking at the field suggests that it might be reversing slightly as he is looking to bowl stump-to-stump.

ndia vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 77/3 (25 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Shahidi has come in the middle. Given how Kuldeep Yadav's spell has gone today, it might not be a bad ploy for Gill to give him a bit of a break and bring in Siraj for a spell. Also in the past, Shahidi had a bit of trouble against the shorter ball. If not, Siraj Prasidh's natural length might give him a bit of trouble. As per Suthar from the other end, he is bowling well, and it does seem like he can continue for a bit longer. Washington Sundar is another bowler for India who has not been used, yet he has the ability to drift the ball as well, and he is pretty good. But change from one end seems to be coming sooner rather than later.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 64/3 (22.2 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

The lack of strike rotation is one of the major reasons behind Gurbaz's wicket. He had a lot of exposure against Suthar through that spell and eventually perished. Mind you, it was a left-arm's dream delivery, but those are sort of byproducts when a batter tends to get stuck at one end. This is where Afghanistan could not make things harder for India in the first innings. They let those drive balls go for singles rather than boundaries. A boundary would have meant the batter was on strike for longer, and that wicket might have come in due to lapse of concentration from the batter or a nip of the ball or surface.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 62/3 (19.2 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Kuldeep Yadav is putting the ball up there, but he has not been able to find the same amount of turn which Suthar could get. It might have to do with the fact that he is a wrist-spinner, as they need the ball to get a bit more scruffed up to get comfortable with the ball, but this wicket might make it harder for him to make those edges carry and beat the batters of the surface. As we update, Manav Suthar has picked up the wicket of Gurbaz, it is a classical left-arm orthodox. The ball pitched on the middle-stump and turned slightly away to get the outside edge and carried to the second slip, who was close-in.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 56/2 (18 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

This is a good passage for India. The runs have completely dried out for Afghanistan; they are not able to even sneak those singles away. Gurbaz, who is quite a fluent batter in the T20 format, is finding it hard. This is where the ability to play the ball with soft hands and get that run away is not a common feature among the batters. And we are seeing the same with Afghanistan here, they need to keep rotating strike and let bowlers bowl to two different batters regularly. If one batter faces a bulk of the deliveries, it helps the bowlers plan better in picking the wickets.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 53/2 (15 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

This is going to be a bit of a challenging spell for Kuldeep Yadav purely because of the wicket. It will get slower and slower, and the Afghan batters will have enough time to get into the backfoot and defend the ball nicely. So it might be the case of dragging them forward and then throwing in that flighted up delivery. Also, he is not coming off a good form after what happened in the IPL, where, like most spinners, he too was taken to the cleaners. One good thing India is doing, no matter who is bowling, is that they have cut down the singles, and that does put immense pressure on the batters.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 48/2 (12.5 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Well, this has been a pretty different kind of over from Suthar. He has looked to bowl it a lot fuller and quicker through the air. He is settling into a nice spell here in Suthar. Given the way oddball is turning, Gill might consider bringing in Kuldeep Yadav into the attack too early on. He will enjoy this prominent seam and, more than anything, a lot of Afghan batters would not have faced him in this format of the game. And as we update, Kuldeep does come into the attack. This is good from Gill; he has been quite proactive with his captaincy in England, at times he has sat back a little longer, but he is bringing his strikers into the game early.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 42/2 (10 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Prasidh Krishna has picked up Atal. Here, it was a delivery from around the wicket from Krishna, which went back in sharply. It was a bit of a technical error from Atal where the previous delivery went away from him, and this one came back in, and there was a gap between bat and pad good enough to sneak through and rattle the stumps. This is something Afghan seamers could have done a bit more. Saleem did it quite successfully, but others lacked a bit of creativity in picking wickets. As per Suthar, he continues to bowl quite superbly, and Gill is giving him quite an attacking field to pick more wickets.

India vs Afghanistan live score: AFG 36/1 (8 overs) vs IND in Mullanpur

Prasidh Krishna resumes from the other end. Krishna can be a bit fuller. The thing has been that Siraj has been too full, and Krishna has been too short; they have not been able to find that happy medium of length which troubles the batters to make an error in the judgement. Which is where Suthar has already excelled, he is bowling it quite in an area which is dragging the batter forward and is putting a lot of revolution into the ball. The only thing to see is if he can contain this pace and accuracy through different spells because of the energy he is imparting on each ball.

India vs Afghanistan live score: Welcome back!

Well, we are back for the final session of the day. An important session for Afghanistan, as it might decide how long this Test match might last. If Afghanistan can fight well, this will go into day four or very well, it can end by tomorrow evening. Manav Suthar completed his incomplete over it is pretty good end with a bit more turn.

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)

IND vs AFG Live Score: Manav Suthar strikes at stroke of Tea for India vs Afghanistan in Mullanpur

Manav Suthar has picked up the wicket of Malik here. It was quite a superb start for Suthar. He was imparting a lot of revolutions on the ball, and the Afghan opener got beaten by the drift, tried to sweep it, and the ball took the top edge, and Siraj in fine-leg completed a somewhat uncomfortable catch. Nevertheless, a wicket for India to close out the session. This has once again been a nice pull-back session by India after a shared morning session. We will be right after the break, do join us. The way Suthar is bowling we might have a a nice spin bowling spell on the other side.

IND vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 19/0 (3.4 overs) vs India

Mohammed Siraj has strayed down the pads a bit here. Usually, he is pretty good with the new ball, but it looks like he was looking for any swing on offer rather than just relying on seam movement on that occasion, which obviously did not give pretty good results. Prasidh Krishna, meanwhile, continues to do what worked for him to stay a bit further behind Siraj's stock length. Still warming up, though, both the Indian seamers have not hit their full pace. 10 more minutes to go for Tea break, will be interesting to see if Shubman Gill will turn to Manav Suthar for an over before the break with two right-handers in the middle.

IND vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 4/0 (1.4 overs) vs India

Siraj did bowl a good first over and did get a bit of swing and seam in the air initially. Prasidh Krishna has taken the ball from the other end. It is good to see him getting a bit of game time in the sub-continent conditions. Usually, we have seen him bowl a lot in overseas conditions, sometimes with good threat and sometimes not so much. Here he is getting the new ball, and if he can bowl his natural length on this surface, it will trouble the Afghan batters quite a bit. As per the openers of the visitors, the conditions are still good for batting, just stick to the basics and enjoy the conditions.

IND vs AFG Live Score: Welcome back!

We are back with the Afghanistan batting. Atal will open with Malik for them. Mohammed Siraj has the new ball for India. He is quite good on these kinds of wickets is Siraj, when he has to just keep hitting the hard lengths, and the ball will nip either side of the seam slightly. Prasidh will probably take the new ball from the other end.

IND vs AFG Live Score: Innings break

Apart from an oddball keeping low, the innings continue to play well. However, what will be the challenge for Afghanistan will be to deal with the mental fatigue. They have been out on the field for a while and have a huge overwhelming score in front of them. So it is going to be a tough couple of sessions for them.

IND vs AFG Live Score: India 564/8 declared vs Afghanistan in Mullanpur

Well, there it is, Shubman Gill has declared, and Washington Sundar has gone past his fifty. All in all, it has been a good outing for the Indian batting. They have got their time in the middle and got the runs under their belt, which will give them a lot of confidence whenever they bat again, be it this game or against Sri Lanka sometime later. As per Afghanistan, Saleem has been class apart, even after bowling a long spell, he continued to operate at 140 plus and managed to get a six-wicket haul. Afghanistan will come out to bat India will bowl for a bout 20 minutes before Tea break. Do join us.

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.