A length held in the heat
Mohammad Saleem bowled through the worst of a New Chandigarh afternoon and came away with figures few expected from a man in only his second Test. Afghanistan fast bowler Mohammad Saleem garnered praise from all corners for his 6 for 140 in India's first innings in the one-off Test in New Chandigarh. The pitch offered him almost nothing. The scoreboard offered him even less. Yet the wickets came, one at a time, across long spells that asked more of his body than of the surface.
Playing only his second Test, he bowled consistently around 140kph in oppressive heat. Having dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and B Sai Sudharsan on Saturday, Saleem had Shubman Gill caught behind for 126 with the second new ball that was about nine overs old by then. The breakthrough against Gill was the turning point of his day, a top-order century ended by persistence rather than movement. A few overs later, Dhruv Jurel misjudged the line and shouldered arms, only for the ball to hit the top of off stump. Later, Saleem dismissed Manav Suthar and Mohammed Siraj before India declared their innings on 564 for 8.
The conditions framed the effort. Despite the terrible heat, he consistently reached 140kph and bowled long spells on a wicket that provided little for fast bowlers. He was one of the visitors' few bright lights during their innings. India's total was vast, and Afghanistan's own reply faltered quickly. At stumps on day two, they were reeling at 113 for 5, still 451 runs behind India. Saleem's six wickets stood almost alone against the run of the match.
His coach measured the achievement in plain terms. Richard Pybus said Saleem was fantastic, and pointed to the discipline that carried him through.
He just held a length. And I think if you hold a length, you're in the game the whole time.
India's Washington Sundar offered his own reading, telling reporters after the day's play that the bowling was of high quality on a surface that gave the seamers little. He bowled long spells - think every single spell he bowled, he bowled more than four, five, [or] even six overs in one of the spells.
A step in the trajectory
For a bowler with a thin international record behind him, the haul reset the terms of his career. He became only the third Afghanistan pacer to take a five-wicket haul in Test cricket. He joined the likes of Ziaur Rahman and Nijat Masood in the list of players with a five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The reward was immediate. Mohammad Saleem, the Afghanistan pacer, who took a six-wicket haul in the recent only Test against India, has been rewarded for his performance as he has been added to the Afghanistan ODI squad for the upcoming three-ODI series.
Two Tests in, and a name written into a short list. The rest, for now, is still ahead of him.
