Debutant Shines As India Secure Record-Breaking Test Victory Over Afghanistan

by Devesh Jaganath

image Debutant Shines As India Secure Record-Breaking Test Victory Over Afghanistan
India returned to the longest format of the game impressively this week, as they romped to a record-breaking victory over Afghanistan at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in New Chandigarh. Manav Suthar played a starring role for the team, claiming seven wickets on debut.

India Romp to Massive Win in First Match of the 2026 Red-Ball Season 

Following two months of thrilling Indian Premier League action, India returned to Test cricket in style this week, as they stormed to victory over Afghanistan inside three days of the match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in New Chandigarh and confirmed our cricket predictions. 

Batting first, the Men in Blue took a commanding position on Day 1, with KL Rahul (100 off 165) and skipper Shubman Gill (126 off 177) reaching three figures, while Sai Sudharsan and Rishabh Pant both posted scores of 81 runs in 104 and 121 deliveries, respectively. 

Washington Sundar produced an impressive knock of 52 runs from 68 balls in the lower order to get his side to an imposing first-innings total of 564/8d, and it did not take long before it became evident that Afghanistan were in a world of trouble. 

In their chase, Afghanistan found themselves four wickets down with just 98 runs on the board by the 33rd over. Following the dismissal of Hashmatullah Shahidi, the rest of the batting order crumbled and were all out for just 152. 

Forced to follow-on, the Afghans looked like they may have been able to get back in the tie, thanks to a 42-run knock by Sediqullah Atal at the top of the order, but that proved only momentary, as after he was dismissed, only Rahmanullah Gurbaz managed to score 20+.

The star of the show for India was Manav Suthar, who was making his Test debut for the Men in Blue. The left-arm spinner took seven wickets in total in the match, including a stunning 6-33 in the first innings and a tidy 1-29 in 10 overs in the second innings. 

In the end, Afghanistan were bowled out for a mere 112 runs in their second innings, which saw them lose the match by an innings and 300 runs, a margin that now stands as India’s biggest win in Test cricket ever. 

Two Big Names Set to Miss Upcoming ODI Series for India 

With the one-off Test now done and dusted, India set their sights on the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which will take place on Saturday, June 13, at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. 

India are strongly fancied to dominate this series as they did the Test, but they have been dealt two major setbacks in the lead-up, with star batter Virat Kohli and key all-rounder Hardik Pandya both ruled out of the series due to injury. 

Kohli was forced to pull out of the squad after sustaining a hamstring injury during the IPL, and he will be replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal. Pandya picked up a thigh strain during training on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to be out for at least three weeks. 

The one positive for India, though, is that Rohit Sharma has been cleared fit to start the first match in Dharamshala on Saturday. The former national team captain was seen in net practise in midweek and is expected to open the batting alongside Jaiswal this weekend.