BENGALURU, June 15: Afghanistan�s dreams of scripting a fairytale turned into a virtual nightmare as a ruthlessly professional India demolished them by an innings and 262 runs inside two days to win the historic one-off Test match here.
Afghanistan came across painfully short of experience for the longest format and were bowled out for 109 and 103 in pursuit of India�s first innings total of 474 all out today.
This was the first time that India won a Test match in two days while it has now happened for the 21st time in the 141-year-history of the traditional format. India, however, did become the first team to claim 20 wickets in a day.
Afghans, who have some impressive accomplishments in the shortest format lasted a total of 66.3 overs (27.5 overs and 38.4 overs), posing serious questions over their readiness to cope up with demands of five-day cricket.
The gulf in class was a reality but the Test match exposed their inability to understand the needs of the longest format. Their performance lends support to the demands for a two-tier Test format, which could get them battle-ready for future series.
With an average first-class experience of less than 15 matches, Test cricket wouldn�t have been easy for Afghans but if a robust first-class structure isn�t put in place, ICC�s novel idea may just backfire.
The giants of world cricket were supposed to be infinitely superior but what lacked in the visitors was the will to fight it out.
Batting was always going to be Afghanistan�s �Achilles heel� as the inexperienced line-up simply didn�t have the technique or the temperament to face either quality pace bowling from Ishant Sharma (2//28 and 2/17) and Umesh Yadav (1/18 and 3/26) or the spin of Ravichandran Ashwin (4/27 and 1/32) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/18 and 4/17).
Every Afghan batsman seemed to be in limited-overs mode without any respect for an aspect called patience, which is an integral component of Test cricket.
SCORECARD
India 1st Innings (Overnight 347/6): H Pandya c A Zazai b Wafadar 71, R Ashwin c A Zazai b Y Ahmadzai 18, R Jadeja c R Shah b M Nabi 20, I Sharma lbw b R Khan 8, U Yadav not out 26; Extras: (b 1, lb 12, nb 1, w 2) 16. Total: 474 all out in 104.5 overs. Fall of wickets: 1-168, 2-280, 3-284, 4-318, 5-328, 6-334, 7-369, 8-436, 9-440, 10-474. Bowling: Y Ahmadzai 19-7-51-3, Wafadar 21-5-100-2, M Nabi 13-0-65-1, R Khan 34.5-2-154-2, M Ur Rahman 15-1-75-1, A Stanikzai 2-0-16-0.
Afghanistan 1st Innings: M Shahzad run out (Pandya) 14, J Ahmadi b I Sharma 1, R Shah lbw b U Yadav 14, A Zazai b I Sharma 6, H Shahidi lbw b R Ashwin 11, A Stanikzai b R Ashwin 11, M Nabi c I Sharma b R Ashwin 24, R Khan c U Yadav b R Jadeja 7, Y Ahmadzai c R Jadeja b R Ashwin 0, M Ur Rahman st D Karthik b R Jadeja 15, Wafadar not out 6; Extras: 0. Total: 109 all out in 27.5 overs. Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-21, 3-35, 4-35, 5-50, 6-59, 7-78, 8-87, 9-88, 10-109. Bowling: U Yadav 6-1-18-1, I Sharma 5-0-28-2, H Pandya 5-0-18-0, R Ashwin 8-1-27-4, R Jadeja 3.5-1-18-2.
Afghanistan 2nd Innings (following on): M Shahzad c D Karthik b U Yadav 13, J Ahmadi c S Dhawan b U Yadav, R Shah c A Rahane b I Sharma, M Nabi lbw b U Yadav 0, H Shahidi not out 36, A Stanikzai c S Dhawan b R Jadeja 25, A Zazai b R Jadeja 1, R Khan b R Jadeja, Y Ahmadzai b I Sharma, M Ur Rahman c U Yadav b R Jadeja 3, Wafadar b Ashwin 0; Extras: (b 4, lb 1) 5. Total: 103 all out in 38.4 overs. Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-22, 3-22, 4-24, 5-61, 6-62, 7-82, 8-85, 9-98, 10-103. Bowling: I Sharma 7-2-17-2, U Yadav 7-1-26-3, H Pandya 4-2-6-0, R Ashwin 11.4-3-32-1, R Jadeja 9-3-17-4. � PTI
