India and Afghanistan will have to be prepared for extreme heat with temperature expected to rise as high as 45 degrees Celsius in Chandigarh during the one-off Test starting on Saturday.
Updated: June 6, 2026, 8:03 AM IST
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Mullanpur Stadium in New Chandigarh will become India’s 31st Test venue. (Source: X)
IND vs AFG 2026 One-off Test: Team India and Afghanistan are facing off in a one-off Test for the second time in 8 years and on both occasions the game was organised in the month of June. The only difference is back in 2018, the India vs Afghanistan game was held in much cooler and possibly ‘bearable’ weather in the city of Bengaluru.
This time around the India vs Afghanistan is going to be as much about test of resilience as it will be about fitness of cricketers from both sides with day-time temperature expected to touch as high as 45 degrees Celsius by the time the 4th and 5th day comes around. But Shubman Gill’s side will be hoping to wrap up the game much before that at India’s 31st and newest Test venue — Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
The two sides will get a feel of things to come with temperature on Saturday afternoon projected to touch about 41 degrees increasing to around 43 degrees by Monday – the third day of the game. There will only be about 8 per cent cloud cover on Saturday morning and afternoon with humidity level around 40 per cent.
Check Chandigarh weather update for Day 1 of India vs Afghanistan one-off Test HERE…
Chandigarh weather update for Saturday.
The pitch at the stadium in Mullanpur had a touch of green ahead of the game but will be played on a black-soil pitch. With the extreme heat in Chandigarh, whatever moisture there is will be expected to dry out by the first session of the game bringing the spinners into play sooner than later. India will be expected to go in with three spinners with Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar being the first-choice slow bowlers and one between Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar making their debut.
Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus was also optimistic that the track will have help for the spin bowlers. “It looks like a good cricket wicket. With the heat, the moisture is going to get pulled out very quickly,” Pybus said in the pre-match press conference on Friday.
“Both sides have got plenty of spinners. Spin is going to play a major part in the game even though it looks pretty green at the moment,” he added.
Both sides will be praying for some respite from the heat and sudden burst of rain or wet weather will be most welcome for a change.
