Cricket news: Who is Manav Suthar? The left-arm spinner who took seven wickets on debut for India
Shubman Gill’s India side dominated the recent contest with Afghanistan to win by an innings and 300 runs in Mullanpur, with the visitors’ return to Test cricket lasting a little less than three days.
When a youthful Afghan team played their first Test in India eight years ago, the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja completely destroyed them.
Almost 10 years later, Afghanistan were defeated by spin once more, this time by a youthful Indian side led by debutant Manav Suthar, writes Sports News Blitz’s Varun Sarwate.
Brilliant debut for Suthar
On his Test debut, India’s newest left-arm spinner made an instant impression by devastating Afghanistan’s batting order and returning impressive figures of 6/33.
With a big lead of 412 runs the result, he helped India enforce the follow-on, making him one of the best debutants in Indian history.
Only Narendra Hirwani, who notably claimed two eight-wicket hauls against the West Indies in Chennai in 1988, has better stats than Suthar in a Test debut.
Taking seven wickets in the match, the left-arm spinner firmly announced himself on the international stage.
Also adding 28 runs down the order in the first innings, the young spinner helped India retain control of the one-off Test.
Quite possibly, India have discovered a key spinner for the future.
Despite being from a small, unassuming town in Rajasthan, Suthar also displayed remarkable control over his drift and turn, troubling the Afghan batters throughout the match.
On day three, his years of experience in domestic cricket were clearly visible as an increasingly frustrated Afghanistan team completely lost its direction.
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Spin magic seals win
The left-arm spinner showed sharp turn on a surface that provided little assistance, which would have pleased Gautam Gambhir, the team’s head coach.
And against Suthar, Afghanistan rarely looked comfortable.
A few batsmen were beaten by the spin, while others surrendered their wickets trying to force the pace against a seamer.
The deliveries to Mohammad Saleem and Rahmat Shah, in particular, were a superb illustration of Suthar’s skill and control.
In Saleem’s case, it hit the batsman on the pads after firing in on the stumps and gripping hard off the surface.
India made a bold appeal, and the umpire raised the finger without hesitation.
According to Suthar, receiving the Test cap was an “unreal” experience, and the match had reinforced the importance of patience in red-ball cricket.
It was the perfect start to his Test career for the 23-year-old, who was named Player of the Match for his efforts.
Given the highly competitive race for Indian Test-squad places, the spinner has provided selectors with plenty to think about.
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