Photo: Sandeep Singh / Pexels
India's Biggest Test Win Sets Up a First Against Afghanistan
When Afghanistan landed in India this month for their first full red-and-white-ball tour of the country, few expected a contest. What followed was even more lopsided than the pessimists feared. The India national cricket team dismantled Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs in the one-off Test at New Chandigarh — the largest victory margin India has ever recorded in Test cricket. Now attention turns to something genuinely new: the two nations are about to play their first bilateral one-day series, beginning June 14 in Dharamsala.
That combination of a historic thrashing and a fresh fixture is exactly why Indian cricket fans have the team trending across timelines this week.
A three-day demolition in New Chandigarh
The Test, played from June 6 at the new Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, barely lasted three days. India batted once, declared on 564 for 8, and never looked back. Captain Shubman Gill anchored the innings with a fluent 126, and KL Rahul brought up a composed 100 at the other end. Afghanistan's Mohammad Saleem fought hard with a maiden five-wicket haul, finishing with 6 for 140, but it was a lone bright spot in a long day in the field.
The reply collapsed twice. Afghanistan were bowled out for 152 in the first innings and, after being asked to follow on, folded again for 112. The match aggregate of 828 runs was the highest in any Test between the two countries — almost all of it scored by one side.
For context, India's previous best Test win by margin was also against Afghanistan, back in 2018. This one comfortably eclipsed it, and it came on a venue staging its first international Test.
The debutant who stole the show
Every rout needs a hero, and this one belonged to a 23-year-old left-arm spinner making his India debut. Manav Suthar ripped through Afghanistan's first innings with figures of 6 for 33, the kind of dream start most bowlers never get. He was named Player of the Match, a rare honour for a debutant in a game packed with established names.
The support cast did its job too. Washington Sundar took 4 for 36 in the second innings, while Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with 3 for 30 and Prasidh Krishna grabbed early wickets with the new ball. India's spin depth has long been a talking point; here it was simply overwhelming on a surface that offered grip from day one.
What stood out was the ruthlessness. India enforced the follow-on rather than batting again to pad statistics, and the bowlers wrapped things up before lunch on the third day. It was the sort of clinical performance a top side produces when everything clicks at once.
Why a first-ever ODI series matters
Here is the detail many casual fans miss. Despite Afghanistan's steady rise in white-ball cricket over the past decade — their run to the semi-finals of a global T20 event still fresh in memory — India and Afghanistan have never played a bilateral one-day series against each other. They have met at World Cups and in the Asia Cup, but never in a dedicated home-and-away ODI contest.
That changes now. The schedule is tight and travels the length of the country:
- June 14 — Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
- June 17 — Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
- June 20 — M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
All three are day-night matches. For Afghanistan, it is a chance to test their celebrated spin trio and a maturing batting order against the world's most scrutinised side in its own conditions. For India, freshly into a new World Cup cycle, it is a runway to try combinations without the pressure of a marquee opponent.
A new-look India, with one big absence
The biggest storyline heading into Dharamsala is who is missing. Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the ODI series with a hamstring injury, and Yashasvi Jaiswal has been drafted into the squad in his place. Kohli's absence leaves a gap at the top of the order that India will have to solve on the fly.
The leadership picture is settled. Shubman Gill captains the side, having taken over the ODI reins, with Shreyas Iyer as his deputy. Both men are closing in on 3,000 career ODI runs, a milestone either could reach during this series. Rohit Sharma is fit and expected to open, bringing experience to a batting unit that otherwise leans young.
A few names worth tracking:
- Rohit Sharma — the senior pro, still India's most destructive ODI opener on his day
- Shubman Gill — captain and in-form anchor, fresh off his Test century
- Kuldeep Yadav — the wrist-spinner who remains central to India's middle-overs plan
- Manav Suthar — could the Test star force his way into the white-ball mix?
- Hardik Pandya — the all-rounder who balances the XI
With Kohli out, the No. 3 slot is up for grabs, and the team management may use these games to look at options it would never risk against a stronger rival.
What the result tells us about both teams
It would be easy to read the Test margin as proof that the gap between India and Afghanistan is unbridgeable. That is only half true. Afghanistan remain a red-ball novice — they play a handful of Tests a year and were always going to struggle across five days in alien conditions against a settled home attack.
White-ball cricket is a different story. Afghanistan's bowling, led by their spinners, has troubled far stronger batting line-ups in 50-over and T20 cricket. If they are going to make this tour competitive, the ODIs are where it has to happen. A surprise result in Dharamsala or Chennai would reframe the entire trip.
For India, the message from the Test is depth. A debutant taking six wickets, a returning Rahul scoring a hundred, a captain leading from the front — this is a squad with options stacked behind every position. The challenge for Gill is to keep that competitive intensity alive against an opponent India are heavy favourites to beat.
What comes next
The ODI series is only the first leg of a busy stretch. Once the Afghanistan games wrap up in Chennai on June 20, India shift formats and continents, travelling to Ireland for a short two-match T20I series later in the month under Shreyas Iyer, who leads the shortest format.
For now, though, the focus is squarely on Dharamsala. India arrive carrying the momentum of a record win and the curiosity of a first-time fixture. Afghanistan arrive with a point to prove and a white ball in hand — their best chance to remind everyone that the scoreline from the Test was never the whole picture. Toss won, first ball bowled, and a new chapter between these two neighbours finally begins.
