On Monday, a historic debut performance from young Indian spinner Manav Suthar stole the spotlight in the one-off Test match between India and Afghanistan held in New Chandigarh, as the 22-year-old turned in a sensational 6 wickets for just 33 runs to bundle the Afghan side out for a total of 152 runs in their first innings.
Suthar’s spell not only announced his arrival on the international Test stage but also carved his name into Indian cricket’s record books. His figures mark the second-best bowling performance by an Indian on Test debut, falling only behind Narendra Hirwani’s iconic 8 wickets for 61 runs against the West Indies back in 1988. He also became just the second Indian slow bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in his maiden Test innings, a feat last achieved by Amit Mishra, who took 5 for 71 against Australia in 2008.
The day’s play built on India’s already dominant position in the match, after the home side declared their first innings at 564 for 8, earning a massive 412-run first innings lead that allowed them to enforce the follow-on on Afghanistan. When play resumed for the third day’s lunch break, Afghanistan had navigated four overs of their second innings without losing a wicket, reaching 18 for 0, with opening batter Sediqullah Atal not out on 16 and Abdul Malik yet to get off the mark, holding on at 2 not out.
Monday’s first session had begun with Afghanistan resuming their first innings at 113 for 5, still five wickets away from being all out. Just five overs into the day, India seamer Prasidh Krishna broke the resistance, knocking over Azmatullah Omarzai’s stumps to claim his third wicket of the innings, finishing with final figures of 3 for 37.
That wicket opened the door for Suthar’s match-winning spell. The young spinner picked up two key wickets across two consecutive overs: he had Sharafuddin Ashraf caught behind the wicket for 11, before clean bowling Rahmat Shah through the gap between bat and pads. Shah, who top-scored for Afghanistan, put up a valiant 60 runs from 135 deliveries, decorated with nine fours and one six.
Suthar continued to dismantle the Afghan lower order, with the final five wickets of the innings falling for just 39 runs to wrap up the innings quickly. This one-off Test is just the second meeting between the two sides in the longest format of the game. Afghanistan’s inaugural Test match back in 2018 was also hosted by India in Bengaluru, where the home side secured a dominant innings and 262-run victory, setting the stage for India’s another commanding showing in this latest encounter.