Afghanistan’s return to Test cricket against neighbours India lasted a little less than three days as Shubman Gill’s side dominated the contest to seal an innings-and-300-run victory in Mullanpur.
Eight years ago, when a young Afghanistan side played their maiden Test in India, they were blown away by the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Nearly a decade later, Afghanistan were undone by spin once again, this time by a young Indian side where debutant Manav Suthar emerged as the star of the show.
IND vs AFG Live Score: One-off Test, Day 3 Highlights
The left-arm spinner finished with seven wickets in the match, announcing himself on the international stage in emphatic fashion.
From India’s perspective, the match may have revealed a key spinner for the future. Hailing from the small, unassuming town of Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, Suthar showcased remarkable control over his drift and turn, troubling the Afghan batters throughout the contest.
Suthar’s years of grind in domestic cricket were evident as an increasingly impatient Afghanistan side lost its bearings on Day 3 of the Test match.
Hashmatullah Shahidi’s men were first bowled out for 152 and forced to follow on. Their second and final innings of the match proved even worse. Afghanistan folded for just 112 runs, handing India a crushing victory inside three days.
AFGHANISTAN LOSE THEIR BEARINGS
Afghanistan were already under immense pressure heading into Day 3 of the Test match. Tasked with batting out the day in the baking heat of Mullanpur, they instead lost their bearings during the morning session.
The turning point came when Mohammed Siraj got into a skirmish with senior batter Rahmat Shah, who was content to block deliveries and play for time.
Rahmat was well within his rights to do so. His batting partner, Sharafuddin Ashraf, was struggling with a leg injury and could barely move between the wickets. With Sharafuddin unable to run, Rahmat’s options were limited – either defend or find the boundary.
Still more than 450 runs behind India’s first-innings total, Rahmat chose the former.
Siraj, however, did not take kindly to the approach. Bowling in the blistering Mullanpur heat, the fast bowler exchanged words with Rahmat, urging him to show more intent and move the game forward.
Whether the confrontation had any effect or not, Afghanistan’s innings unravelled soon after.
Ashraf was the first to fall, edging behind while attempting an expansive shot. The dismissal triggered a collapse as Afghanistan lost three wickets in the space of four overs and were eventually bowled out for 152.
What had begun as a patient rearguard effort quickly descended into another reminder of the gulf between the two sides.
MANAV SUTHAR IMPRESSES ON DEBUT
The one-off Test against Afghanistan marked the first time in 15 years that India played a home Test without either Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja in the XI.
Back in 2018, the celebrated spin duo had dismantled a young Afghanistan side in Bengaluru. This time, the responsibility fell on a new-look spin attack led by Kuldeep Yadav to expose the weaknesses of an Afghan team that had grown considerably in red-ball cricket.
With India searching for answers after a difficult period at home, the Test also served as an opportunity for the spin unit to prove that it could carry forward the country’s rich tradition in familiar conditions.
And it was here that India may have unearthed their next spin prospect.
Making his Test debut, Manav Suthar registered one of the finest bowling performances by an Indian debutant, finishing with six wickets in Afghanistan’s first innings and seven in the match.
The left-arm spinner showcased impressive control over his length, drift and turn, consistently asking questions of the Afghan batters. More importantly, he managed to extract sharp turn from a surface that was not offering extravagant assistance, a quality that would have pleased head coach Gautam Gambhir and the team management.
Afghanistan rarely looked comfortable against him. Some were beaten by the spin, while others surrendered their wickets trying to force the pace against a bowler who refused to relent.
Speaking after the match, Suthar described receiving his Test cap as an “unreal” moment and said that the debut had reinforced the value of patience in red-ball cricket.
The 23-year-old was named Player of the Match for his efforts, capping off a dream start to his Test career.
ALL-ROUND WASHINGTON WRAPS THINGS UP
India wasted little time in enforcing the follow-on after bowling Afghanistan out for 152 in reply to their first-innings total of 564.
To their credit, Afghanistan began their second innings with far more intent. Opener Sediqullah Atal looked determined to take the attack to India, particularly against the spin bowlers, and helped his side put up a brief fight in the opening exchanges.
The resistance, however, did not last long.
Mohammed Siraj provided India with the breakthrough in the 14th over, ending a promising opening stand and opening the door for the bowlers once again.
Afghanistan’s proactive approach briefly put India’s spinners under pressure, but living on the edge was never going to be a sustainable strategy.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, batting at No. 3, looked in fine touch and appeared capable of leading a counterattack. But the batter threw away his wicket in the 20th over, taking on the long-on fielder off Kuldeep Yadav despite not being fully in control of the shot.
Once Gurbaz departed, the innings quickly unravelled.
Washington Sundar took charge of the collapse, picking up four wickets as Afghanistan lost their remaining batters in a rush. Kuldeep, despite proving expensive at times, cleaned up the tail and finished with three wickets in the innings.
Afghanistan were eventually bowled out for 112 after choosing not to send out the injured Sharafuddin Ashraf to bat.
The result was a crushing innings-and-300-run defeat, bringing Afghanistan’s brief return to India for Test cricket to an end inside three days.
THE UMPIRING DISASTER
One aspect of the Test match that may be forgotten amid India’s dominant victory was the standard of umpiring on display across the three days in Mullanpur.
On multiple occasions, Afghanistan were left frustrated by questionable decisions from on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Sharfuddoula Saikat.
KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant survived despite appearing to edge the ball, while Shubman Gill was ruled not out after what looked to be a straightforward LBW appeal. Afghanistan, meanwhile, found themselves on the wrong side of one of the most glaring errors of the match when Nangeyalia Kharote was given out off what replays suggested was a clear bump ball.
To make matters worse, Afghanistan struggled with their use of the Decision Review System throughout the Test.
While poor umpiring alone did not influence the outcome of a match that India dominated from start to finish, the number of high-profile errors raised uncomfortable questions about officiating standards in bilateral cricket. When several obvious calls go wrong in the space of a single Test, scrutiny is inevitable.
INDIA’S BRIGHT SPOTS BEYOND SUTHAR
Shubman Gill’s India will take back plenty of happy memories from the one-off Test against Afghanistan before preparing for a far sterner challenge in Sri Lanka later this year.
While Manav Suthar’s dream debut grabbed the headlines, several other players gave India reasons to be optimistic about the future.
Captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul both struck centuries in India’s mammoth first innings, while Rishabh Pant looked completely at ease on his return to his favourite format of the game.
Among the bowlers, Prasidh Krishna quietly had an impressive outing. Operating on a surface that offered very little assistance to fast bowlers, Prasidh bowled with discipline and purpose, creating pressure whenever he was brought into the attack.
Washington Sundar was another major positive. The all-rounder contributed in both departments, chipping in with valuable runs and wickets to underline his growing importance in the Test setup.
For India, the victory was comprehensive. Beyond the margin of the win, however, the biggest takeaway may have been the number of players who put their hands up ahead of tougher assignments later in the year.
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