West Indies all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall picked up seven wickets to derail Afghanistan’s innings in the one-off Test in Lucknow, India, on Wednesday.
Afghanistan were well placed at 84-1 batting first at the Ekana Cricket Stadium but the introduction of the burly Cornwall changed the complexion of the match as he dismissed the hosts for 187 in 68.3 overs.
Extracting extra turn and bounce with his high-arm action, Cornwall blew the Afghan middle order away by getting four batsmen to edge behind in a row.
Ihsanullah and Nasir Jamal edged Cornwall to first slip while Rahmat Shah got an inside edge to short fine leg. The experienced Asghar Afghan edged an attempted cut shot behind as the 26-year-old completed his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Cornwall polished off the tail to finish with splendid figures of 7-75 from 25.3 overs. Cornwall's figures are the second best by a West Indian in Test cricket on Indian soil since the great Andy Roberts took 7-64 against in 1975 in Chennai.
Cornwall has been the top performing spinner in the Caribbean for the past few seasons, averaging five wickets per match in more than 50 first-class games.
For Afghanistan, opener Javed Ahmadi top-scored with 39 while tailender Amir Hamza chipped in with 34.
In reply, the West Indies were 68-2 when the stumps were drawn.
Afghanistan are looking to become the first team to win three of their first four Tests. They lost their first match against India inside two days, but went on to defeat Ireland and Bangladesh in their next two.
