IND vs AFG

4:06 PM local time and IST: Shubman Gill, on his home ground, hands the trophy over to Manav Suthar as the team poses with it! So, a winning start to New Chandigarh's run as a Test venue for Team India. Now, the action shifts to ODI cricket, where the 1st game comes in on 13 July, Saturday, at 1:30 PM local time, in Dharamsala. Afghanistan are a much better 50-overs side, so, we can expect a much better contest between teams, looking ahead as preparation for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Till then, this is Sourabh and Bidipto taking your leave. Keep following Sportskeeda! 

Shubman Gill (India captain): "I think a complete win! We've ticked all boxes. It was very hot, but we decided that if we get them out first up, before the 1st session, we'll ask the bowlers. They gave us the go-ahead and we went on with the enforcement of the follow-on. The kind of quality our spinners have, there was never any doubt. But it was about continuing to be relentless and staying patient. When you're batting first, it's important to score 350 runs, anywhere. Because we have the bowling. So we will keep working on this aspect of our game in different conditions anywhere in the world." 

Manav Suthar (Player of the Match, a 7-wicket haul on debut, 28 runs with the bat and 3 catches in the field): "It was an unreal feeling because this was the dream, to play Test cricket for India! When I went out to bat, I felt good. But I realized that there is help for the spinners. And when I got to bowl, I was sure about it. I try to back my stock delivery anyway, and after bowling on the wicket, I was certain to go ahead and of course, vary things. The important thing in this format, is to be patient and keep bowling at one play to be consistent." 

Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan captain): "First of all, congratulations to India for their performance! It was a tough game for us. Our discipline in the bowling was not good. But they played really well. The reality is that we don't have much experience in this format. But, we have lots of lessons to take and hopefully, learn from them to get better. We have positives, specially Saleem (Mohammad Saleem Safi). I am very happy for him! In the batting. Rahmat (Shah) in the 1st innings and Sediq (Sediqullah Atal) in the 2nd were decent. The pitch's behaviour also kept changing, and so, he (Manav Suthar) bowled with a lot of discipline." 

A chat now with Washington Sundar who got 5 wickets in the match and a fifty with the bat as well: Felt really good, specially to play this format after a long time. Wanted to get a lot of bowling coming into this match, got the rhythm right from ball one. I did not think about the pace that much, was just focusiing on rhythm. Yesterday, the ball was coming out of my hands really well. I was really pleased with it, was important to get the line right as the wicket was offering something. Towards the end, I wanted to bowl a little wider but before that wanted to keep it more on the stumps. This wicket was a little on the slower side, if we bowled slightly back of a length thwe batters got a lot of time that is why sticking to a length was important. (on the reviews) It is a part and parcel of the game, based on our past experience we wanted to make the best use of technology but sometimes it does not happen. Felt good with both bat and ball, glad how I approached 

3:03 PM local time and IST: India win by an innings and 300 runs!

Shubman Gill 126 (177) | Manav Suthar - 6/33 (22) || Washington Sundar - 4/36 (11)
Rahmat Shah 60 (135) | Mohammad Saleem Safi - 6/140 (27) || Sediqullah Atal - 42 (80)

Only 13 Test matches for Afghanistan in 8 years, and it told on them on this occasion, as India were just too good! On the other side of the coin, Manav Suthar's debut was outstanding!

We were wondering what would happen without the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja, but Suthar, with his ability to turn the ball irrespective of the surface, came in as a breath of fresh air as the legendary left-armer's replacement! A 7-fer in his first Test with a 6-wicket haul in his 1st innings, it couldn't get any better!

This happens to be India's largest win in Test cricket! Tells you more than a story.

As for this session, the question was if Afghanistan could take it to tomorrow, more than anything else. Because Azmatullah Omarzai, Afsar Zazai and Sharafuddin Ashraf were still there. We know what Omarzai can do in white-ball cricket, so there was no reason for him to apply himself just that bit more and take the innings deep. 

But all that got put to bed, as Zazai was the first one to go, unable to read an arm-ball from who else but Suthar! The very next delivery, the first ball of the next over from Washington, saw Omarzai take the aerial route and perish at long-on. Kuldeep looked like not being able to complete that catch initially, but then, managed really well to finish the job. 

Then, it was Kuldeep's turn to wrap things up with two wickets in two balls. And the moment the two batters after that went up to the Indians to shake hands, things were clear as crystal that Ashraf wouldn't come out to bat. 

Overall, a pretty good game for the hosts. When Shubman Gill is available as captain, for the full game, there is a lot of control in India's cricket. Yes, maybe he could have attacked a bit more at times, but, the control was well maintained. 

The visitors need to play more matches in whites. They need more red-ball games under their belt. The more they play, the better they get. And there are no two ways about it. 

35.5 Kuldeep Yadav to Mohammad Saleem Safi, OUT, two in two for Kuldeep and the players are shaking hands. Ashraf will not bat then, that is the end of the test match and India register a decimating win over Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs. That ended pretty rapidly, just the half an hour in the final session. A googly from Kuldeep, around the leg stump, on the fuller side, Saleem looks to hit this out of New Chandigarh, the ball turns the other way and takes the leading edge, lobs up to Sudharsan at cover for the simplest of catches. Biggest ever win for India in Test cricket, an absolute no contest!