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Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi lauded India on a dominant victory over his side, admitting that they struggled from the outset due to indisciplined bowling.
He acknowledged India's strength in home conditions and said the match provided valuable lessons for Afghanistan, particularly in handling pressure situations. Shahidi expressed hope that his team would learn from the experience and continue improving as expectations rise with their growing success. Sensational centuries from skipper Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, coupled with a remarkable debut performance from spin all-rounder Suthar, powered India to a massive innings and 300-run victory over Afghanistan in the one-off Test at New Chandigarh on Monday. "Congratulations to the India team on their performance. I think it was a tough day, a tough game for us right from the beginning. Our discipline in bowling was not that good. So I think they played really well right from the start. We learned a lot from this game because we don't get enough opportunities to play this format, but everybody knows that India is a tough team playing in their own conditions. But a lot of lessons to us and hopefully that we learn from this, and hopefully that we play and we learn to play under pressure because as we win, the things get tougher," Shahidi said after the match. Shahidi also praised India's all-rounder Manav Suthar for his disciplined, stump-to-stump bowling, crediting him for putting Afghanistan under pressure. Shahidi noted that the pitch conditions changed throughout the match, making batting increasingly difficult, while the mounting scoreboard pressure further compounded their struggles against the left-arm spinner. "I think he bowled really well. He bowled stump to stump, and he was really disciplined in his bowling. That's why we struggled against him, because if you look at the pitch, the pitch behavior was also changing session by session. I think the scoreboard pressure was there, and also with that, the pitch condition was changing, and I think he bowled very disciplined," he added. Suthar announced himself on the international stage in spectacular fashion, claiming a six-wicket haul on Test debut and earning the Player of the Match award for his match-winning performance. The 23-year-old Rajasthan all-rounder returned figures of 6 for 33 from 22 overs, becoming only the 10th Indian bowler and the seventh spinner from the country to claim a five-wicket haul on Test debut. Suthar's match-defining spell also earned him a place in the record books, with his figures ranking as the second-best by an Indian bowler on Test debut behind Narendra Hirwani's memorable 8 for 61 against the West Indies in 1988. (ANI)
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