Washington Sundar celebrates with his teammates after taking a wicket on day 3 of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur on June 8, 2026
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
The one-off Test against Afghanistan was India’s first at home since 2010 without either the now-retired R. Ashwin or the rested Ravindra Jadeja. Much like Ashwin and Jadeja at their vintage best in the subcontinent, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar and off-spinner Washington Sundar dovetailed nicely to propel the host to victory by an innings and 300 runs inside three days at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium on Monday (June 8, 2026). It is India’s biggest win by an innings in Test history.
Notwithstanding the caveat that the Afghans lack skill and experience in the five-day format, India will take a lot of heart from Manav’s match haul of seven wickets on debut. The 23-year-old left-arm spinner returned exemplary figures of 22-10-33-6 in the first essay, becoming the seventh Indian to take a five-for in his debut innings. In the second dig, Washington came to the fore with four for 36 while left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with three scalps.
Replying to India’s mammoth 564 for eight declared, Afghanistan, which was 113 for five overnight, was shot out for 152 and 112. The one-sided contest came to a close shortly after the tea interval, with the visitor’s implosion entailing the fall of seven wickets for just 25 runs in its second innings (Sharafuddin Ashraf was absent hurt).
Having conceded a first-innings deficit of 412, Hashmatullah Shahidi & Co. were forced to follow on. They had a more robust start the second time around as Sediqullah Atal stitched together a 42-run opening stand with Abdul Malik. Sediqullah’s keenness to take on the Indian spinners was evident.
But once Mohammed Siraj pinned Malik plumb in front in the 14th over, India had a foot in the door. As the afternoon wore on, the Afghan batters couldn’t strike the right balance between attack and defence. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah and Sediqullah succumbed to rash shots just before tea.
In Afghanistan’s first innings, Manav ran through the lower order. Adding to his three victims on Sunday (June 8), the youngster induced a faint edge from Sharafuddin Ashraf. In his next over, the tweaker punched the air in delight as he castled Rahmat around his legs for his five-for. Just three balls later, he trapped Mohammad Saleem leg-before.
A large chunk of Manav’s deliveries homed in on the good-length area. Through his spells, he conveyed the impression of a bowler acutely aware of the demands of the classical version. It points to a bright future.
Scoreboard
India 1st Innings: 564/8 declared
Afghanistan 1st Innings: Abdul Malik c Mohammed Siraj b Manav Suthar 16 Sediqullah Atal b Prasidh Krishna 17 Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Sai Sudharsan b Manav Suthar 12 Rahmat Shah b Manav Suthar 60 Hashmatullah Shahidi lbw b Prasidh Krishna 20 Afsar Zazai c & b Manav Suthar 3 Azmatullah Omarzai b Prasidh Krishna 0 Sharafuddin Ashraf c Pant b Manav Suthar 11 Nangeyalia Kharote not out 4 Mohammad Saleem lbw b Manav Suthar 0 Ziaur Rahman c Pant b Washington Sundar 6 Extras: (nb-2, w-1) 3
Total: 152 all out in 58.4 overs
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-40, 3-62, 4-98, 5-113, 6-118, 7-142, 8-143, 9-143.
India bowling: Mohammed Siraj 9-2-29-0, Prasidh Krishna 11-2-37-3, Manav Suthar 22-10-33-6, Kuldeep Yadav 10-1-32-0, Washington Sundar 6.4-1-21-1
Afghanistan 2nd Innings (following on): Sediqullah Atal c Prasidh Krishna b Washington Sundar 42 Abdul Malik lbw b Mohammed Siraj 8 Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Prasidh Krishna b Kuldeep Yadav 24 Rahmat Shah c Suthar b Washington Sundar 13 Hashmatullah Shahidi c Shubman Gill b Washington Sundar 5 Afsar Zazai lbw b Manav Suthar 8 Azmatullah Omarzai c Kuldeep Yadav b Washington Sundar 4 Nangeyalia Kharote c Suthar b Kuldeep Yadav 6 Ziaur Rahman not out 0 Mohammad Saleem c Sai Sudharsan b Kuldeep Yadav 0 Sharafuddin Ashraf absent hurt Extras: (nb-2) 2
Total: 112 all out in 35.5 overs
Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-74, 3-87, 4-93, 5-98, 6-106, 7-106, 8-112, 9-112.
India bowling: Manav Suthar 10-2-29-1, Prasidh Krishna 3-0-6-0, Kuldeep Yadav 7.5-1-30-3, Mohammed Siraj 4-1-11-1, Washington Sundar 11-4-36-4.
Published – June 08, 2026 11:38 am IST
