New Delhi: Left-arm spinner Manav Sothar announced his arrival on the Test stage in spectacular style, snarling Afghanistan’s batsmen as a ruthless India cruised to a record-breaking innings and 300 runs in the only Test in New Chandigarh on Monday at the Maharaja Yadavendra Singh International Cricket Stadium.Making his Test debut, the 23-year-old from Rajasthan returned figures of 6/33 in the first innings before adding another wicket in the second to finish with seven wickets. Such was India’s dominance that the match was decided in the first innings itself. After coming in to bat, India had declared 564/8 thanks to brilliant centuries from KL Rahul and skipper Shibman Gill. Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar scored valuable half-centuries to knock hosts Afghanistan out of the game.The visitors had no answer to India’s spin attack and were bundled out for 152 in their first innings to take a huge lead of 412 runs. Soother was the chief destroyer, taking six wickets on debut to destroy the batting line-up.Asked to follow-on, Afghanistan’s resistance in the second innings lasted only 35.5 overs. India’s bowlers once again raced through the batting order to seal a stunning victory and complete the most one-sided contest in recent Test history.The win by an innings and 300 runs is India’s biggest victory in Test cricket, eclipsing the previous record of an innings and 272 runs against the West Indies in Rajkot in 2018.Incidentally, India’s third biggest Test win was also against Afghanistan, when they won by an innings and 262 runs in Bengaluru in 2018.Soother’s figures of 6/33 were not only instrumental in the victory but also included him in the elite group of Indian bowlers to take six wickets on Test debut.
India’s biggest Test win (by margin)
- Innings and 300 runs vs Afghanistan, New Chandigarh (2026)
- Innings and 272 vs West Indies, Rajkot (2018)
- Innings and 262 vs Afghanistan, Bengaluru (2018)
- Innings and 239 runs vs Bangladesh, Mirpur (2007)
- Innings and 239 runs vs Sri Lanka, Nagpur (2017)
India’s innings and 300-run victory over Afghanistan eclipsed the previous national record of an innings and 272 runs against the West Indies in Rajkot eight years ago.The win is one of the 10 biggest wins in Test cricket history, ranking jointly as the 10th biggest by an innings.
