At stumps, Afghanistan were tottering at 113 for 5 with Suthar registering figures of 3 for 21 in 15.5 overs. India find themselves leading by 451 runs. Get the full match report right here
Published: June 7, 2026, 6:21 PM IST
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India’s Manav Suthar, right, celebrates with Yashasvi Jaiswal after taking the wicket of Afghanistans’s Afsar Zazai on day two of a Test cricket match between India and Afghanistan, in Mullanpur, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (Image credits: PTI)
Debutant Manav Suthar’s classical left-arm spin bowling was a beacon of hope for a bright future as his three wickets gave India complete control on the 2ndday of their one-off Test against Afghanistan at the PCA Stadium in New Mullanpur.
With the sun at its peak, India declared their first innings at 564 for 8 right after Washington Sundar scored a pressure-free half-century while adding 54 useful runs with Suthar (28 off 41 balls).
Manav Suthar steals the show
Having warmed up nicely in the 1st innings with the bat, Manav Suthar wasted no time to get into the act straightway after being asked to bowl the last over before tea. On just his 4th international delivery, Suthar removed opener Abdul Malik, who wanted to play the sweep shot after looking clueless facing first three deliveries.
Suthar has a high release point and his main attributes included putting multiple revs (revolutions) on the ball. He could hang the ball for an extra second in the air and also get some drift before it turns away from the right-hand batters.
The 23-year-old has a repetitive action and the pitch map on TV showed that he could land the ball on the same spot and make it do three different things. The wicket of the Afghanistan opener was one which he bowled straight and the ball bounced a tad extra making Malik’s sweep unsuccessful.
In the case of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sutha simply didn’t allow him to come on the front-foot.
He bowled a few that went straight and Gurbaz defended. Then from the same spot, he bowled one that dipped late and then turned away after taking the edge of Gurbaz’s bat into Sai Sudharsan’s hands at second slip.
Suthar’s third and final wicket of the day came when the ball stopped and bounced with Afsar Zazai closing the face of the bat and the loopy leading edge resulted in an easy return catch.
Skipper Shubman Gill did very well to allow Manav Suthar to bowl unchanged for 13 overs from one end while shuffling between Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh and Kuldeep Yadav at the other end.
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Suthar’s impressive debut in Test cricket is an indication that he is ready to fill in for the massive shoes of Ravindra Jadeja when the latter gets phased out from red ball format. Other than Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna (2/27 in 7 overs) was the other notable wicket-taker.
Earlier in the day, Rishabh Pant answered his critics in the best possible manner with a fantastic 81 while Afghanistan pacer Mohammad Saleem enjoyed figures of 6 for 140.
Pant did play his signature strokes but also curbed his natural instinct to go after each delivery, treating each ball on its merit during his 121-ball knock that had six boundaries and three sixes. He should have completed his century but off-spinner Hashmatullah Shahidi slowed the pace considerably.
At stumps, Afghanistan were tottering at 113 for 5 with Suthar registering figures of 3 for 21 in 15.5 overs. India find themselves leading by 451 runs.
