For the first time in 15 years, India fielded a home Test XI without either R Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja. That inevitably shifted attention towards debutant Manav Suthar, the 23-year-old left-arm spinner who had earned his opportunity through a steady body of work in domestic cricket.

The Rajasthan left-armer, who made his first-class debut in February 2022, arrived with an impressive record: 129 wickets from 29 matches at an average of 25.76, including six five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket match returns. Yet the challenge before him in Mullanpur was different. Could he fill the void left by Jadeja, even if only for a game?

On the evidence of Day 2 against Afghanistan, Suthar not only looked at home at the highest level, he emerged as the most effective spinner on either side. In 15.5 overs, he returned figures of 3 for 21, bowled seven maidens and rarely allowed Afghanistan's batters any room to settle.

Suthar operated almost exclusively in the good-length and back-of-a-length regions, landing 94 of his 95 deliveries in those zones. From a good length, he induced false shots on 26.6% of deliveries, while that figure climbed to 30.6% when he dragged his length slightly shorter. To put that into perspective, Washington Sundar's 15.3% was the next-best false-shot percentage from a good length among the spinners, while Abdul Malik's 14.2% was the closest from a back-of-a-length.

The broader numbers further underline his impact. Across 95 deliveries, Suthar conceded only 21 runs at an economy rate of 1.32 and recorded a false-shot percentage of 29.4%, comfortably the highest among the six spinners used in the innings. His dot-ball percentage of 89.4 was also the best on show, highlighting both the pressure he created and the control he maintained. More importantly, he generated considerably more turn than the other slow bowlers while maintaining a brisk pace through the air, making him difficult to line up on a surface that otherwise appeared slow and placid.

Suthar vs the rest of the spinners

Suthar was introduced in the sixth over, shortly before the Tea break, and struck almost immediately. Generating substantial turn with the relatively new ball, he unsettled Abdul Malik from the outset. The opener attempted to counterattack with a sweep but could only top-edge the ball, handing the debutant his maiden Test wicket.

Barring a slog-swept six from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, scoring against Suthar proved difficult throughout the day. The left-armer bowled 13 overs unchanged across the Tea interval, repeatedly beating the bat and forcing Afghanistan's batters into defensive responses. He then removed Gurbaz with a delivery that spun away sharply and found the edge through to second slip.

Returning late in the day, Suthar added another maiden before claiming the wicket of Afsar Zazai with the final ball of play. The dismissal encapsulated much of what had made him successful through the innings: a probing length, sharp turn and enough variation off the surface to keep the batter uncertain.

Washington Sundar, who shared the attack with Suthar late in the day, pointed to the debutant's ability to impart revs on the ball as a defining strength. "He has got great skillsets as a spinner, genuine spinner in terms of how much he could actually spin the ball and how much revs he could actually bring on the ball. That has always been his strength over the years in many formats. He has played a lot of red-ball cricket, especially in the last two-three years, and done really well every single time he has played in this format.

"In terms of skillset, I think he gives all his energy on the ball every single day of the week. He uses a lot of his body. That's something there for us to see and observe because it's quite evident. Every time he gets into his load-up and releases the ball, he gives all of his energy into the ball. That's an amazing skill as well as attitude to bring in every single day of the week," observed Washington.

Richard Pybus, Afghanistan's head coach, was equally impressed, highlighting the consistency that allowed India to build sustained pressure from one end. "I thought Suthar bowled really nicely today. He held his length well. The ends are opening up. There is dirt to work with. He was very consistent. We need to be very clear in our game plan for that. But his consistency allowed them to be able to build consistent pressure against us from one end."

The explanations offered by Washington Sundar and Richard Pybus were echoed by Suthar himself, who boiled his approach down to a simple game plan.

"The focus was simple. The wicket was offering some help and my strength is getting the ball to turn. So my aim was to extract as much turn as possible because the pitch was assisting. At the same time, I wanted to keep bowling in good areas and hit the ideal length consistently, because that was where the help was coming from. That was my entire focus," he told the broadcaster.

It remains only a single day's work at the highest level. But on an occasion when the spotlight naturally fell on how India would cope without two of the finest spinners the game has seen, Suthar offered a compelling first impression. The three wickets were tangible rewards, but it was the manner in which they came that stood out. Through control, turn and an ability to create uncertainty almost every third delivery, the 23-year-old provided an early glimpse of why India have invested in him and why he could have a meaningful role to play in the next phase of their spin-bowling evolution.