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The one-off Test between India and Afghanistan has ended on Day 3 of the Test match as India won the game by an innings and 300 runs at the New Chandigarh Stadium, and created history after the win as this is their highest win by margin in the longest format of the game.
Manav Suthar won the Player of the Match in his debut game. Suthar picked six wickets in the first innings and completely dismantled the Afghanistan batting line-up on his debut match. He was hard to pick as the ball turned and bowled a brilliant line and length throughout the Test match. The 23-year-old became only the tenth Indian bowler and seventh Indian spinner to take five wickets on Test debut.
Manav Suthar creates history
After winning the POTM, he joined the elite list of Indian players who won the POTM in their debut game, joining hands with Yashasvi Jaiswal as well. After his sensational performance, skipper Shubman Gill also lauded the young left-arm spinner and congratulated him after the game in the post-match presentation.
Manav Suthar was unable to pick wickets in the second innings but bowled amazingly yet again. Apart from Gill, coaches and teammates, selectors have opened up about the spinner’s talent.
He puts so many revs on the ball- Anshu Jain, Manav Suthar's U-19 coach
Rajasthan team head coach Anshu Jain, who was Manav Suthar’s coach during U-19 and U-23 days, revealed a shocking fact that one close-in fielder could hear the sound of the revs from the ball as the India cricketer delivered the ball. This has been one of the key reasons for his success in the first game; he uses his fingers to generate more revs to allow more turns.
"In one of the U-23 games, one of the close-in fielders told me that you can hear the sound of the revs when he bowls. He puts so many revs on the ball, which is quite unreal in this day and age of cricket," Anshu Jain, Rajasthan's current head coach, under whom Suthar played at the U-19 and U-23 levels, tells Timesofindia.com after the left-arm spinner bagged a six-wicket haul on debut.
"This is natural. He is unique as well. No current cricketer will tell you that he wants to play Test cricket for India and that the IPL is not his ultimate aim. He told me this when he was still in his teens. It's remarkable," adds Jain.
Someone who will get you wickets even on flat tracks- Source on Manav Suthar
One of the interesting facts is that he also impressed Shubman Gill while he was bowling in the nets for the Gujarat Titans (GT); this has been one of the key reasons for Manav Suthar to get selected, and another reason is that he would have got a chance earlier, but Ravindra Jadeja’s performance in England made his debut a bit delayed.
"Suthar is someone who will get you wickets even on flat tracks. He has so much skill that he doesn't need much from the surface. Accuracy, revs, the right pace it all makes him very sharp. Selectors have been very excited to give him a go and conversations around him began during the tour of England."
"He was close to getting a maiden call-up for the West Indies home Tests but Jadeja's outings with the bat in England earned him another lifeline," explains a source tracking developments.
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