IND vs AFG: Afghanistan spinners struggled, but head coach sees valuable lessons
Richard Pybus said Afghanistan's inexperienced spinners will learn from a bruising day against India in Mullanpur. He pointed to Kharote's character, Malik's no-balls and Rahul's reprieve as key themes of the day.
Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus believes debutant Nangeyalia Kharote and senior spinner Abdul Malik will emerge better bowlers despite enduring a difficult opening day against India's formidable batting line-up in the one-off Test in Mullanpur.
The two spinners found life tough against an Indian side led by centuries from KL Rahul and Shubman Gill. Kharote bowled 19 overs while Malik sent down six, with the pair conceding 131 runs in their combined 25 overs without taking a wicket.
Despite the harsh figures, Afghanistan's head coach Pybus insisted the experience would prove invaluable for bowlers who have largely developed their game in Afghanistan's domestic system.
IND vs AFG, ONLY TEST DAY 1: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
"I think when you make your debut in India against India, it's a place to come and learn, isn't it?" Pybus said after the end of play on Day 1.
"Coming out of Afghanistan's first-class cricket, and then you're bowling against the best players in the world."
KHAROTE SHOWED CHARACTER, SAYS PYBUS
While Kharote was put under pressure by India's batters throughout the day, Pybus felt the left-arm spinner showed encouraging signs as the innings progressed.
The Afghanistan coach said the youngster was effectively given a benchmark of the standards required at the highest level and was pleased with the way he responded after a difficult start.
"And he got benchmarked today, showing exactly the type of control and consistency which he needs. It was a lot of pressure on him," Pybus said.
"I felt that for him to come back and bowl better later in the day, I thought that showed a lot of character because there would have been some youngsters who would have really struggled to come back."
Kharote was introduced after the opening session and initially found some assistance from the surface, but India gradually took control as the pitch eased out and the batters settled in.
MALIK'S NO-BALLS ADDED TO AFGHANISTAN'S WOES
Abdul Malik's outing was made even more difficult by a series of no-balls, including one that denied Afghanistan what appeared to be a potential breakthrough against Rishabh Pant.
Pybus suggested that the repeated overstepping may have contributed to the decision to limit Malik's workload despite India having left-handers at the crease for large parts of the innings.
"With Malik, I think maybe the captain was a little bit worried. Malik bowled a couple of no-balls. Going one main spinner down really put pressure on us," he said.
The coach, however, had praise for Afghanistan's seamers, who kept asking questions of the Indian batters despite limited reward on a surface that became increasingly batter-friendly.
"For the seam bowlers, I thought they stuck at it really well. I think it's a beautiful batting track. It was a little bit slow in the first session and it looks a fantastic track now."
PYBUS UNFAZED BY RAHUL'S LUCKY ESCAPE
Pybus also refused to make an issue out of KL Rahul's early reprieve after television replays showed that the Indian opener had edged a delivery from Ziaur Rahman to wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai.
Afghanistan chose not to review the on-field decision, allowing Rahul to continue. The opener went on to score a century and lay the platform for India's dominant day with the bat.
However, Pybus felt such moments are simply part of the game.
"I think it gets balanced out for better. I've got no issue if a guy stands. Sometimes they get bad calls. Sometimes they get a little bit of grace. Sometimes you don't know it. Sometimes you get a feather and you don't feel it."
With India ending the day firmly in control, Afghanistan will now hope the difficult lessons learnt by their young spinners can help them produce a stronger response as the Test progresses.
Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus believes debutant Nangeyalia Kharote and senior spinner Abdul Malik will emerge better bowlers despite enduring a difficult opening day against India's formidable batting line-up in the one-off Test in Mullanpur.
The two spinners found life tough against an Indian side led by centuries from KL Rahul and Shubman Gill. Kharote bowled 19 overs while Malik sent down six, with the pair conceding 131 runs in their combined 25 overs without taking a wicket.
Despite the harsh figures, Afghanistan's head coach Pybus insisted the experience would prove invaluable for bowlers who have largely developed their game in Afghanistan's domestic system.
IND vs AFG, ONLY TEST DAY 1: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
"I think when you make your debut in India against India, it's a place to come and learn, isn't it?" Pybus said after the end of play on Day 1.
"Coming out of Afghanistan's first-class cricket, and then you're bowling against the best players in the world."
KHAROTE SHOWED CHARACTER, SAYS PYBUS
While Kharote was put under pressure by India's batters throughout the day, Pybus felt the left-arm spinner showed encouraging signs as the innings progressed.
The Afghanistan coach said the youngster was effectively given a benchmark of the standards required at the highest level and was pleased with the way he responded after a difficult start.
"And he got benchmarked today, showing exactly the type of control and consistency which he needs. It was a lot of pressure on him," Pybus said.
"I felt that for him to come back and bowl better later in the day, I thought that showed a lot of character because there would have been some youngsters who would have really struggled to come back."
Kharote was introduced after the opening session and initially found some assistance from the surface, but India gradually took control as the pitch eased out and the batters settled in.
MALIK'S NO-BALLS ADDED TO AFGHANISTAN'S WOES
Abdul Malik's outing was made even more difficult by a series of no-balls, including one that denied Afghanistan what appeared to be a potential breakthrough against Rishabh Pant.
Pybus suggested that the repeated overstepping may have contributed to the decision to limit Malik's workload despite India having left-handers at the crease for large parts of the innings.
"With Malik, I think maybe the captain was a little bit worried. Malik bowled a couple of no-balls. Going one main spinner down really put pressure on us," he said.
The coach, however, had praise for Afghanistan's seamers, who kept asking questions of the Indian batters despite limited reward on a surface that became increasingly batter-friendly.
"For the seam bowlers, I thought they stuck at it really well. I think it's a beautiful batting track. It was a little bit slow in the first session and it looks a fantastic track now."
PYBUS UNFAZED BY RAHUL'S LUCKY ESCAPE
Pybus also refused to make an issue out of KL Rahul's early reprieve after television replays showed that the Indian opener had edged a delivery from Ziaur Rahman to wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai.
Afghanistan chose not to review the on-field decision, allowing Rahul to continue. The opener went on to score a century and lay the platform for India's dominant day with the bat.
However, Pybus felt such moments are simply part of the game.
"I think it gets balanced out for better. I've got no issue if a guy stands. Sometimes they get bad calls. Sometimes they get a little bit of grace. Sometimes you don't know it. Sometimes you get a feather and you don't feel it."
With India ending the day firmly in control, Afghanistan will now hope the difficult lessons learnt by their young spinners can help them produce a stronger response as the Test progresses.
