India cricket team registered a mammoth innings and 300 runs win against Afghanistan in the one-off Test as the game was wrapped up within 3 days. Manav Suthar emerged as the standout performer for the hosts, finishing with figures of 7/62 across two innings, proving that he is an able replacement for a 37-year-old Ravindra Jadeja in the longest format of the game. Although the IND vs AFG one-off Test wasn’t a part of the World Test Championship (WTC 2025/27) cycle, Shubman Gill and co. have done well to put themselves on the right track after suffering a whitewash against South Africa in their previous series at home. This happens to be India’s biggest innings win for India in Tests.
Manav Suthar stands out
Making his much-awaited Test debut, Manav Suthar finished with best figures for a Test debutant in 35 years, by recording figures of 6/33 in the 1st innings, followed by 1/29 in the 2nd innings. In the 32 overs that he bowled, the spin all-rounder 12 maidens. It is pertinent to point out that this was the first time in over a decade where India fielded a playing XI at home sans all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. He recorded the second best bowling figures by an Indian on Test debut.
Now that Ravindra Jadeja is 37-years old and is at the fag end of his career, India have seemingly found a like-for-like replacement for the veteran southpaw. Suthar made a mark with the bat as well in the one-off Test against AFG, scoring 28 runs off 41 balls, including 2 fours and sixes each. Jadeja had been rested for this series, having been on the road for two consecutive months as a part of RR in IPL 2026. However, given Suthar’s performance, he is bound to be the frontrunner to replace Jadeja in the Test setup in the future.
| Runs | Opposition | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300* | Afghanistan National Cricket Team | Mullanpur | 2026 |
| 272 | West Indies Cricket Team | Rajkot | 2018 |
| 262 | Afghanistan National Cricket Team | Bengaluru | 2018 |
| 239 | Bangladesh National Cricket Team | Mirpur | 2007 |
| 239 | Sri Lanka National Cricket Team | Nagpur | 2017 |
Sundar repays faith
Washington Sundar is another all-rounder who is here to stay in the Indian Test team. With the bat, he scored an unbeaten 52-run knock that guided India to a mammoth 564-run total in their first innings. While he picked up just 1 wicket from 6.4 overs in the 1st innings, he emerged as the standout bowler in the 2nd innings, finishing with figures of 4/36 from 11 overs. Sundar has been an integral part of the Test setup since the series against New Zealand at home in 2024, and has been delivering constantly with the bat and ball, whenever required.
No much luck for pacers
The surface in New Chandigarh seemed to favour the Indian spinners more than the pacers. Out of the 20 Afghanistan wickets that India managed to bag, spinners collected 14 scalps. Mohammed Siraj did not get any wicket in the 1st innings, but managed to bag one in the 2nd. Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna recorded figures of 3/37 in the 1st innings, but failed to secure a single wicket in the 2nd.
Indian batters dominate
Well, it was a dominating show from the Indian batters which set up the stage for victory in this one-off Test. While Yashasvi Jaiswal wasted a good start after scoring 24 runs, it was KL Rahul who went on to score yet another Test century, just to be dismissed after getting his hundred. Sai Sudharsan was dismissed for 81 runs. Meanwhile, captain Shubman Gill’s fine form continued as he became India’s leading run-getter in the ongoing WTC cycle with yet another century and his first at his home ground.
While Dhruv Jurel flopped, Rishabh Pant also missed out on what would have been a deserving century as he too was dismissed for 81 runs. Suthar and Siraj’s cameos allowed India to reach a mammoth total.
Cricket
What makes Manav Suthar special? Turn like Ashwin, speed like Jadeja and India have a gem
