Afghanistan managed periods of resistance but came up short as Washington Sundar and Manav Suthar combined to secure India’s win by an innings and 300 runs on day three of their one-off Test on Monday.
Resuming the day at 113 for five in the first innings, Rahmat Shah’s doughty essay was trumped by Suthar’s wily use of flight and turn that secured him the third-best figures by an Indian on debut (six for 33). Washington got four for 36 in the second innings to cap off India’s day.
Azmatullah Omarzai chopping onto the stumps off Prasidh Krishna inside the first 30 minutes was not the start Afghanistan was hoping for. Sharafuddin Ashraf fought through pain and held one end for 11 overs until an ailing leg played its part in his ill-executed loft off Suthar, which was caught behind.
It was only fitting that Suthar picked his record fiver by foiling the best batter’s sweep and castling Rahmat around his legs. The left-arm spinner had a bonus wicket with Mohammed Saleem given leg-before off a delivery pitching outside the leg-stump line.
Washington had something to show for his effort when Ziaur Rahman’s waft was skied and grabbed by Rishabh Pant.
Avoiding the effort of taking the field for a fourth day was a fair bargain for another 35 overs on Monday, and India enforced a follow-on, with a first-innings lead of 412 runs.
Afghanistan found its second defier in Sediqullah Atal, but other than his 80-ball 42, the Afghanistan innings was a blur.
Abdul Malik dropped anchor for 40 balls before Mohammed Siraj’s delivery zipped through the line, pinned him and made the effort worth only eight runs.
Atal swept Suthar through the square in the first over, signaling his intent not to hang around. In the third over of the innings, he picked him into the sight screen before lofting another over mid-off.
Besides a couple of streaky edges through the cordon off Siraj, there was also a reverse-swept boundary against Suthar in the 12th over. The intent to bat out of trouble found a taker in Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who used the reverse sweep against Washington and then danced down to Kuldeep Yadav and thumped him over long-on.
But Gurbaz and Rahmat holed out at long-on, off Kuldeep and Washington, respectively, four overs apart, and thus began Afghanistan’s collapse.
Afghanistan was 87 for two in the 23rd over and, in the space of 12 overs, got bundled out for 112. Atal was the fifth to depart, tempted by Washington’s floater and caught at point off a miscue.
Kuldeep had appeared toothless for a major part of the first innings, but ended with three wickets, including two off the last two balls of the game, courtesy of some blind slogging by the tail. And had the injured Sharafuddin taken the crease, he would have had a shot at a hat-trick.
Published on Jun 08, 2026
