152/10 (58.4)
CR : 2.59
564/8 (127.0)
CR : 4.44
India won by an innings and 300 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Manav Suthar
6/33 & 1/2928(41)
Largest Wins by Asian Teams in Test (By Innings & Runs):
Innings & 324 runs – Pakistan vs New Zealand, Lahore, 2002
Innings & 300 runs – India vs Afghanistan, Mullanpur, 2026, This Match*
Innings & 280 runs – Sri Lanka vs Ireland, Galle, 2023
Innings & 324 runs – Pakistan vs New Zealand, Lahore, 2002
Innings & 300 runs – India vs Afghanistan, Mullanpur, 2026, This Match*
Innings & 280 runs – Sri Lanka vs Ireland, Galle, 2023
3:48 PM IST, Local Time: Over 45 minutes since the match achieved its result, still no signs of the post match presentation.
3:55 PM IST, Local Time: Time for the Post-Match Presentations with Murali Kartik.
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "(On the loss in this Test) First of all congratulations to India on their performance. I think it was a tough game for us. Right from the beginning, our discipline with the ball was not that good. So, I think they played really well right from the start.
(What did they learn from India?) The reality is that we do not have that experience in this format. I think we learnt a lot from this game because we do not get enough opportunities to play this format. Everybody knows that India is a tough team to play in their own conditions. A lot of lessons for us and hopefully we learn from this. Hopefully we learn to play under pressure as well when the things get tougher.
(On the positives in their side) Yeah, we had positives. Saleem bowled really well. Saleem was part of the team before this, but he got injured in the middle of the tours. I think he did a brilliant comeback the way he was bowling. I am very happy for him. In the batting side of things, Rahmat played well in the first innings and in the second innings, Sediq was also good.
(On facing Manav Suthar) I think he bowled really well. He bowled stump to stump. He was really disciplined in his bowling. That is why we struggled. If you look at the pitch, the pitch behaviour was also changing session by session. I think the scoreboard pressure was also there and with that the pitch conditions kept changing and they bowled with great discipline."
(What did they learn from India?) The reality is that we do not have that experience in this format. I think we learnt a lot from this game because we do not get enough opportunities to play this format. Everybody knows that India is a tough team to play in their own conditions. A lot of lessons for us and hopefully we learn from this. Hopefully we learn to play under pressure as well when the things get tougher.
(On the positives in their side) Yeah, we had positives. Saleem bowled really well. Saleem was part of the team before this, but he got injured in the middle of the tours. I think he did a brilliant comeback the way he was bowling. I am very happy for him. In the batting side of things, Rahmat played well in the first innings and in the second innings, Sediq was also good.
(On facing Manav Suthar) I think he bowled really well. He bowled stump to stump. He was really disciplined in his bowling. That is why we struggled. If you look at the pitch, the pitch behaviour was also changing session by session. I think the scoreboard pressure was also there and with that the pitch conditions kept changing and they bowled with great discipline."
Player of the Match: Manav Suthar
Manav Suthar (Player of the Match): "[Test match cricket is very easy, right?] No sir! It isn't like that.
[On feelings about debut] It was an unreal feeling. Top of the world. It was my dream to play Test cricket for India. I wanted to play Test cricket for India since the beginning, and it happened.
[Did batting before bowling settle his nerves?] No. Even when I went out to bat, I felt quite good. I settled slowly after playing for a few balls and realized there was some help for the spinners. Then, when I came on to bowl and delivered my first over, I got the same feeling. After that, my only focus was to keep using the right line, length and pace.
[On turning the ball and using variations later] I wanted to read the wicket early, so I used my stock deliveries more. Once I understood that the wicket was a little slow and required some variation in pace, I started making those adjustments. But the main idea was always to make my stock ball as effective as possible.
[On taking the new ball] Very proud and felt really good taking the new ball.
[What about the review he wanted to take on the first ball of the 2nd innings?] It happened in the heat of the moment. I felt it was too straight.
[On learnings from the Test] The biggest lesson is that consistency is everything. You have to keep bowling in the same area over and over again. I think that's the most important thing in Test cricket. It's a format that demands a lot of patience. That's what I have learned: keep being patient, stick to your plans and keep hitting the right areas consistently."
[On feelings about debut] It was an unreal feeling. Top of the world. It was my dream to play Test cricket for India. I wanted to play Test cricket for India since the beginning, and it happened.
[Did batting before bowling settle his nerves?] No. Even when I went out to bat, I felt quite good. I settled slowly after playing for a few balls and realized there was some help for the spinners. Then, when I came on to bowl and delivered my first over, I got the same feeling. After that, my only focus was to keep using the right line, length and pace.
[On turning the ball and using variations later] I wanted to read the wicket early, so I used my stock deliveries more. Once I understood that the wicket was a little slow and required some variation in pace, I started making those adjustments. But the main idea was always to make my stock ball as effective as possible.
[On taking the new ball] Very proud and felt really good taking the new ball.
[What about the review he wanted to take on the first ball of the 2nd innings?] It happened in the heat of the moment. I felt it was too straight.
[On learnings from the Test] The biggest lesson is that consistency is everything. You have to keep bowling in the same area over and over again. I think that's the most important thing in Test cricket. It's a format that demands a lot of patience. That's what I have learned: keep being patient, stick to your plans and keep hitting the right areas consistently."
Shubman Gill (India Captain): "(On the big win) I think a complete win from our side. We ticked all the boxes so very happy with that.
(On the decision to give Afghanistan a follow-on) It was very hot here. We had decided that if we get them before Lunch or after the first drinks, we will see if the bowlers are fresh and then decide to give them a follow-on. If not, we will bat for a couple of sessions, and maybe at the end of the day we will bowl again. We got quick wickets, though. I think the way our fast bowlers bowled was great. Siraj got us that crucial wicket when we gave them a follow-on. Prasidh got 3 important wickets.
(On the troika of spinners) The kind of quality that Manav, Washi and Kuldeep have, there was never any doubt. It was all about giving them the experience and getting overs in and seeing that on wickets like this, how to set the batter up. Keep varying the pace and keep testing the batters in different areas.
(The plans for the team going ahead) It is simple. When you are batting in the first innings, try to post 350 on the board every time. No matter where we are playing and what kind of conditions we get. We have the trust in our bowling group that we can take 20 wickets anywhere. Whenever there is a transition, I feel the batting group is under more pressure. We are trying to get experienced; we are trying to see what works well for us in different conditions and how we can regularly post 350-400 totals on the board."
(On the decision to give Afghanistan a follow-on) It was very hot here. We had decided that if we get them before Lunch or after the first drinks, we will see if the bowlers are fresh and then decide to give them a follow-on. If not, we will bat for a couple of sessions, and maybe at the end of the day we will bowl again. We got quick wickets, though. I think the way our fast bowlers bowled was great. Siraj got us that crucial wicket when we gave them a follow-on. Prasidh got 3 important wickets.
(On the troika of spinners) The kind of quality that Manav, Washi and Kuldeep have, there was never any doubt. It was all about giving them the experience and getting overs in and seeing that on wickets like this, how to set the batter up. Keep varying the pace and keep testing the batters in different areas.
(The plans for the team going ahead) It is simple. When you are batting in the first innings, try to post 350 on the board every time. No matter where we are playing and what kind of conditions we get. We have the trust in our bowling group that we can take 20 wickets anywhere. Whenever there is a transition, I feel the batting group is under more pressure. We are trying to get experienced; we are trying to see what works well for us in different conditions and how we can regularly post 350-400 totals on the board."
Shubman Gill collects the winner's trophy, and the team joins him behind the winner's board for smiles and photographs. It is Manav Suthar who has been handed over the trophy by his captain and why not? The debutant impressed one and all with his skill set and with that India seal another test series.
Player of the Match for India on Debut in Test:
Pravin Amre vs South Africa, Durban, 1992
RP Singh vs Pakistan, Faisalabad, 2006
Ravichandran Ashwin vs West Indies, Delhi, 2011
Shikhar Dhawan vs Australia, Mohali, 2013
Rohit Sharma vs West Indies, Kolkata, 2013
Prithvi Shaw vs West Indies, Rajkot, 2018
Shreyas Iyer vs New Zealand, Kanpur, 2021
Yashasvi Jaiswal vs West Indies, Roseau, 2023
Manav Suthar vs Afghanistan, Mullanpur, 2026, This Match*
Pravin Amre vs South Africa, Durban, 1992
RP Singh vs Pakistan, Faisalabad, 2006
Ravichandran Ashwin vs West Indies, Delhi, 2011
Shikhar Dhawan vs Australia, Mohali, 2013
Rohit Sharma vs West Indies, Kolkata, 2013
Prithvi Shaw vs West Indies, Rajkot, 2018
Shreyas Iyer vs New Zealand, Kanpur, 2021
Yashasvi Jaiswal vs West Indies, Roseau, 2023
Manav Suthar vs Afghanistan, Mullanpur, 2026, This Match*
It was not a WTC fixture, nor was it against a formidable opponent. Yet, this win for India against Afghanistan will do their confidence a great deal. They have been vulnerable at home on slow tracks in recent times. They found a way to tackle that in this Test and have triumphed.
The road from here does not get easier though for this red-ball unit. They will need every ounce of confidence from this Test going ahead as now they once again will step into their WTC fixtures. Firstly, they have a spin assessment against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in the month of August. Following that, they have swing and seam challenge down south in New Zealand coming December.
Their next home fixture will be when they welcome the mighty Aussies for a 5-match series early next year. India cannot afford to drop games in this schedule of theirs as that would dent their WTC final chances. It will be interesting to follow the blues as they march on.
For Afghanistan, they should treat this more as a learning tour than a competing tour once they go back to the drawing board. They are far more inexperienced than their competitors and to challenge them on their home turf was always going to take an extraordinary effort. For the visitors, they firstly need to make sure they hold on to their chances with bat and ball; and a good tutorial on how to use the DRS would help them as in Test cricket overturning decisions in your favour does go a long way.
On this note, we cap off this One-off Test between India and Afghanistan. I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Ninaad Dixit, Yogesh Kumar and Aman. Adios!!!
The road from here does not get easier though for this red-ball unit. They will need every ounce of confidence from this Test going ahead as now they once again will step into their WTC fixtures. Firstly, they have a spin assessment against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in the month of August. Following that, they have swing and seam challenge down south in New Zealand coming December.
Their next home fixture will be when they welcome the mighty Aussies for a 5-match series early next year. India cannot afford to drop games in this schedule of theirs as that would dent their WTC final chances. It will be interesting to follow the blues as they march on.
For Afghanistan, they should treat this more as a learning tour than a competing tour once they go back to the drawing board. They are far more inexperienced than their competitors and to challenge them on their home turf was always going to take an extraordinary effort. For the visitors, they firstly need to make sure they hold on to their chances with bat and ball; and a good tutorial on how to use the DRS would help them as in Test cricket overturning decisions in your favour does go a long way.
On this note, we cap off this One-off Test between India and Afghanistan. I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Ninaad Dixit, Yogesh Kumar and Aman. Adios!!!