All posts tagged: India vs Afghanistan one off Test 2026

Manav Suthar teases India’s spin future in New Chandigarh

Manav Suthar teases India’s spin future in New Chandigarh

Of the key answers that India were pursuing with purpose this week, one arrived on the second afternoon of the one-off Test in New Chandigarh. It would have taken nothing less than a miracle for Afghanistan to silence the Indian batters once captain Shubman Gill had decided to bat first on the opening morning. Predictably, they failed, saved in part from the painful fielding exercise with an Indian declaration coming at 567 for eight after 127 overs on day two. Minutes before tea, the Indian management were teased with a sequence that would have helped tick a vital box of the fourth spinner before the World Test Championship (WTC) assignments resume in Sri Lanka in two months. Hailing from close to the Line of Control (LOC) in west Rajasthan, debutant Manav Suthar imbued second-nature restraint with the ball. The left-arm spinner initiated his bowling career with a vicious turner – whirring past Afghanistan opener Abdul Malik’s wafted bat from length. Three deliveries in, the 23-year-old landed the ball with a similar trajectory. Sharp spin at …

Gill, Rahul tons put Afghanistan to the sword on Day 1

Gill, Rahul tons put Afghanistan to the sword on Day 1

By the time Zia Ur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai skimmed through their first overs of the day against Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, it was amply clear that the pitch and the seamers could not have startled the Indian openers. Playing a Test match in the burning June heat at a new northern venue is a relatively new experience for the Indian unit, too. But the feeling of facing Test thoroughbreds for days is much more stifling for Afghanistan. An unhelpful bowling surface, though, isn’t a new feeling for Rahman and his teammates. They dwell on nature-proof cement slabs day in and day out back home. Adjusting to the surface after losing the toss at the New PCA Stadium on Saturday, Afghanistan had exhausted reserves of an entire XI, sapped limbs, sloppy palms and uninspired minds. The visitors were soon teleported back in time. Back to 2018, when a classic desi batting order gatecrashed their red-letter day in Bengaluru. Shubman Gill’s group matched them on execution and buried the Afghans under a greater volume of …

Shubman Gill, KL Rahul score centuries against Afghanistan in one-off Test | Cricket News

Shubman Gill, KL Rahul score centuries against Afghanistan in one-off Test | Cricket News

3 min readUpdated: Jun 6, 2026 05:00 PM IST India skipper Shubman Gill slammed his 11th Test century on the opening day of India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan on Saturday at Mullanpur. The India captain took 138 deliveries in an innings studded with 11 fours and 1 sixe to get to his milestone. Meanwhile, KL Rahul also scored his 12th Test ton before falling to Rahman Sharifi in the third session. Earlier, Sai Sudharsan was graceful and edgy in equal measure during an attractive innings of 81 while KL Rahul was a picture of confidence during his unbeaten 81 as India reached 209 for 2 at tea on the opening day of the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Sudharsan, who enjoys the vote of confidence of head coach Gautam Gambhir, got two reprieves — but missed out on what would have been his maiden Test hundred. Veteran Rahul, who also led a charmed life, blended caution with aggression to inch towards his 12th Test hundred in his 68th appearance in whites. At the break, skipper Shubman …

‘Whoever plays, they’ll be given bit of run’

‘Whoever plays, they’ll be given bit of run’

2 min readJun 4, 2026 06:39 PM IST India’s assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate said that India’s No.3 spot has been passed on from player to player since Cheteshwar Pujara’s retirement and it was high time for them to stick with either Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal in that role. Since Pujara, Shubman Gill, Padikkal, Sudharsan, Karun Nair and Washington Sundar have all been tried in that position to middling effect. The current no.3 Sudharsan has played 6 tests in the No.3 position and has managed just an average of over 27. “There’s been a lot of changes in that spot and that’s not ideal, you know. You need to look at the incumbents for that role and and maybe stick with someone. It’s a difficult position to bat in and a very important position to bat. Dev comes in with a ton of runs in domestic cricket across all the formats and obviously Sai’s been high on runs in IPL with Gujarat, so they’re both in good form,” Ten Doeschate said at a press …