India thrashed Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs in the one-off Test.
India clinched the one-off Test against Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs after bowling out the visitors twice on Day 3 in Mullanpur on Monday (June 8).
Following on, Afghanistan were bundled out for 112, worse than their 152 in the first innings after the hosts racked up a mammoth 564/8 (declared) in their first essay.
Debutant Manav Suthar was the pick of the bowlers for India, claiming six wickets in the first innings and one scalp in the second dig. Washington Sundar (4-36) and Kuldeep Yadav (3-30) shared seven wickets between them in Afghanistan's second innings.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, India skipper Shubman Gill described it as a complete, near-perfect win where the team "ticked all the boxes".
"I think a complete win from us, ticked all the boxes. So very happy with that. (Thought process to enforce the follow-on?) It was very hot. We decided that if we get them before lunch or just after the first drinks, we'll see if the bowlers are fresh we'll give them a follow-on. If not, we'll bat a couple of sessions and maybe at the end of the day, we'll give them the ball again. But we got quick wickets, we came back. And also the way our fast bowlers bowled, Siraj got us that crucial wicket when we gave them a follow-on and Prasidh got three important wickets," Gill said.
The captain was effusive in praise of the spin trio of Manav, Washington and Kuldeep. "(Thoughts on the spin-trio?) The kind of quality, I think, Manav, Washi and Kuldeep has, all three of them, there was never any doubt. It's all about getting the experience and getting a number of overs and seeing, on wickets like these how to set the batsman up, keep varying the pace, keep testing the batsman in different areas," he added.
The victory also offered a glimpse into India's future as young players stepped up in the absence of quite a few seniors. Gill (126) himself and KL Rahul (100) both struck commanding centuries to lay the foundation of a massive first innings score.
Acknowledging that batting units face heightened scrutiny during transitions, Gill outlined a simple strategy -- consistently post 350 runs in the first innings and rely on a formidable bowling attack capable of taking 20 wickets anywhere.
"(Young side in transition. What does India as a team and you as a captain need to do to take this team forward?) I'd say pretty simple. When you're batting first innings, try to post 350 on the board every time you get into bat, no matter where we are playing, what kind of conditions it is. I think there's enough trust in our bowling group that we can take 20 wickets anywhere," Gill remarked.
"Whenever there's a transition, we feel the batting group is under more pressure and we are trying to get experience. We're trying to build here to see what kind of game can work for us as a batting group and in different conditions and different situations. How we can keep posting regularly 350-400 totals on the board," he concluded.