India register biggest-ever Test win as Suthar stars on dream debut

India national cricket team created history with their crushing innings-and-300-run victory over Afghanistan national cricket team in the one-off Test at New Chandigarh, recording their biggest-ever win by innings margin in Test cricket.

India’s previous largest innings victory came against the West Indies in Rajkot in 2018, when they won by an innings and 272 runs. Interestingly, India’s earlier record before that had also come against Afghanistan, by an innings and 262 runs in Bengaluru in 2018.

The result also extended India’s unbeaten streak against Afghanistan in men’s international cricket to 15 matches across formats. India have won 13 of those encounters, while one ended in a tie and another was washed out — the most matches any team has played against an opponent without suffering a defeat.

The match belonged to debutant Manav Suthar, who delivered one of the finest debut performances by an Indian bowler in Test history. The left-arm spinner returned figures of 6 for 33 in Afghanistan’s first innings, the second-best bowling figures by an Indian on Test debut after Narendra Hirwani’s famous eight-wicket haul against the West Indies in 1988.

Suthar finished with seven wickets in the match, scored 28 valuable runs and also took three catches, becoming only the fourth player in Test history to score 25-plus runs, take five or more wickets and claim three catches on debut.

His all-round display earned him the Player-of-the-Match award, making him the ninth Indian men’s cricketer to win the honour on Test debut. Among Indian debutants, only Ravichandran Ashwin and RP Singh had previously won the award primarily for bowling performances.

Captain Shubman Gill continued his remarkable run as Test skipper by registering his sixth century as captain in just 15 innings. Only Don Bradman and Alastair Cook reached six Test hundreds as captain in fewer innings.

Gill also crossed 1000 Test runs as captain during the match, becoming the second-fastest Indian skipper to reach the milestone after Sunil Gavaskar.

For Afghanistan, Rahmat Shah achieved a personal landmark by becoming the first batter from the country to score 1000 Test runs. His first-innings knock of 60 was also Afghanistan’s maiden Test half-century against India.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul added an unwanted statistical record despite reaching another Test century. Rahul now averages 126.16 in matches where he scores hundreds — the lowest average among players with at least ten Test centuries. He has also been dismissed exactly on 100 in each of his previous three Test tons, a feat surpassed only by Len Hutton, who was dismissed on 100 four times in his career.

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