Afghanistan struggles to 113-5 after India declares at 564-8 on Day 2 of one-off test

NEW CHANDIGARH, India (AP) — Debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar picked up 3-21 as Afghanistan finished the second day of the solitary cricket test against India at 113-5 in 39.5 overs on Sunday.

Prasidh Krishan also picked up 2-27 with Rahmat Shah (43) unbeaten at stumps.

This was after India declared its first innings on 564-8 (127 overs), including centuries from Lokesh Rahul (100) and skipper Shubman Gill (126).

Mohammad Saleem picked up 6-140, the fifth-best bowling figures in tests for Afghanistan. India still leads by another 451 runs.

Earlier, India had reached 475-6 at lunch after Afghanistan picked up three wickets in the morning session.

Gill added 23 runs to his overnight score before he was caught off Saleem, an innings that included 15 fours and a six.

Gill and Rishabh Pant put on 169 runs for the fourth wicket to seize control for the hosts.

Pant then added a quick-fire 36 runs with Dhruv Jurel before the set duo was out in the space of six deliveries – Saleem bowled Jurel (19) to get his fourth, while Pant was caught at the boundary off Hashmatullah Shahidi for 81.

Post lunch, Washington Sundar scored his sixth test half-century as India crossed 500. He hit five fours and a six to anchor the lower order.

Suthar also scored 28 off 41 balls in his maiden test outing. Mohammed Siraj added 22 off 12 balls. Saleem accounted for both Suthar and Siraj – picking up his fifth and sixth wickets, respectively.

It was Saleem’s maiden five-wicket haul – and best bowling figures – in only his second test as India declared ahead of tea.

Suthar then struck the first blow as Siraj completed a running catch to give the spinner his maiden test wicket when opener Abdul Malik was out caught for 16. Afghanistan went to tea at 28-1.

India picked up another four wickets in the final session, led by Suthar and Krishna. Suthar had Rahmanullah Gurbaz out caught for 12

Sediqullah Atal was bowled for 17, while skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (20) was out lbw – both to Krishna, who is featuring in his first test on home soil, as Afghanistan slipped to 98-4.

Shahidi and Shah added 36 for the fourth wicket – the best partnership for Afghanistan yet.

Afsar Zazai (3) and Shah battled for 45 deliveries, before Suthar dismissed Zazai in the final over of the day, taking a simple return catch. Shah hit six fours and a six to stay unbeaten at stumps.

It is only the second test between the teams. India had hosted Afghanistan’s inaugural test in Bengaluru when the home side won by an innings and 262 runs.

On Day 1, India had won the toss and opted to bat, finishing the day at 368-3.

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Afghanistan's Rahmat Shah, left, looks on as India's Manav Suthar takes the catch to dismiss Afghanistan's Afsar Zazai off his own bowling on day two of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and India in New Chandigarh, India, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

India's Dhruv Jurel fields a shot by Afghanistan's Afsar Zazai on day two of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and India in New Chandigarh, India, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

India's Manav Suthar, left, celebrates with teammates the wicket of Afghanistan's Afsar Zazai on day two of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and India in New Chandigarh, India, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

India's debutant Manav Suthar bats on day two of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and India in New Chandigarh, India, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

India's Washington Sundar, right, bats on day two of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and India in New Chandigarh, India, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

India's Rishabh Pant bats on day two of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and India in New Chandigarh, India, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

India's Dhruv Jurel, center, is bowled out by Afghanistan's Mohammad Saleem, left, on day two of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and India in New Chandigarh, India, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

India's captain Shubman Gill bats on day two of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and India in New Chandigarh, India, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — At least a dozen attacks on health facilities and workers have been recorded during Congo's Ebola outbreak as safety fears restrict the response in the worst-affected region, authorities said Saturday.

Many health workers and other frontline workers in Ituri province have also gone on strike over unpaid salaries, further complicating response efforts in what’s been declared the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. So far 2,181 cases have been recorded, including 864 deaths.

The Bundibugyo virus responsible for this outbreak is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, and there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

Many of the attacks have been carried out by angry mobs who have stormed treatment centers or targeted response teams in the field, Pierre Akilimali, incident manager for the Ebola response, said at a press briefing in Bunia, the capital of Ituri.

The attacks are not limited to healthcare teams and affect frontline workers like burial teams, according to Dr. Adelard Lufongola, operations manager for the Ebola response.

“Members of the various response teams have been held captive in some health zones. Teams responsible for safe and dignified burials have been threatened and continue to be threatened in some cemeteries and within several communities,” Lufongola said at the briefing.

Ebola spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and materials. Traditional funerals in which loved ones wash and prepare bodies have been restricted, which has angered some residents.

In Ituri, which accounts for around 90% of all cases, health and aid workers have been seen leaving remote communities considered hot spots and heading to Bunia in recent days, locals told The Associated Press.

U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric on Thursday told reporters that humanitarian actors are “deeply concerned by escalating violence” impacting the Ebola response and that access to treatment centers and surrounding communities remains constrained.

“The worsening security situation has forced several humanitarian partners involved in the Ebola response to temporarily relocate staff to Bunia which is relatively safer,” he said.

The most recent attack recorded was on Wednesday, when residents in the town of Nyakunde attacked a hospital and touched an Ebola treatment center nearby.

Officials said treatment and care resumed on Thursday at the center after its occupants, including some patients, fled in the aftermath of the attack. Concerns, however, remained about risks of transmission amid the chaos.

“I fear that the aid workers involved in combating this Ebola outbreak are going to leave the area. This risks making the task of eradicating the outbreak more difficult,” said Christophe Munyanderu, a civil society leader in Ituri’s Irumu territory.

Rubble set on fire as health workers involved in Congo's Ebola response go on strike as they protest over payment issues in Bunia, Congo, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Constant Same Bagalwa)