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This is a remarkable win for Team India as they have defeated Afghanistan in a one-sided match in New Chandigarh. The home team won by defeating the visiting team by an innings and 300 runs.
As captain Shubman Gill says after the match, it was a complete victory for the team. Not only did he perform brilliantly with the bat, he also performed equally well with the ball. From beginning to end, Afghanistan did not get any chance to make a comeback in the contest.
Shubman Gill and company batted brilliantly in the first innings.
Before the spinners flourished in the middle, it was the batsmen who set the tone for India. Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar left their mark on the scorecard. Gill and Rahul registered a century each, and more than fifty runs came from the bat of Sudarshan, Pant and Sundar. Sudarshan and Pant could also have scored centuries, but they had to return after scoring 81-81 runs.
The summer conditions made the conditions more unfavorable for the batsmen and favorable for the spinners. The temperature in New Chandigarh was around 38 degrees Celsius during the peak day. The pitch gradually became more dangerous and on top of that the Indian spinners showed their skills.
A complete victory: Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill explains that his plan was to bowl out Afghanistan before lunch and then ask them to bat on the follow-on. The boys worked as per the plan, and they got the result before the end of the third day.
“I think we had a complete win, all the boxes ticked. Very happy with that. (The thought process of implementing the follow-on?) It was very heated. We decided that if we get them before lunch or just after the first drink, we will see if the bowlers are fresh or not, we will give them the follow-on. If not, we will bat for a few sessions and maybe at the end of the day, we will give them the ball again.”
“But we got wickets early, we came back. And the way our fast bowlers bowled, Siraj got us that important wicket when we gave him the follow-on and Prasidh got three important wickets. (Thoughts on the spin-trio?) I think there was never any doubt about the quality that Manav, Vashish and Kuldeep, all three of them have.”
“It’s all about gaining experience and getting many overs and seeing how to set the batsman on such wickets, keep changing the pace, keep testing the batsman in different areas. (The young team is in transition. India as a team and as a captain what do you need to do to take this team forward?) I would say it is quite simple,” Shubman Gill said at the presentation ceremony.
Manav Suthar hoisted the flag
After the post-match speech, Shubman Gill took the trophy and handed it over to his teammate Manav Suthar, who was the player of the match, taking a total of 7 wickets in his debut Test for India. He lifted his trophy as well as his moment high in the air.
It was also a great moment for the captain as he returned to the format after a long gap. Performing under the scorching heat was never easy. But the entire team did and Gill praised his teammates for their hard work and the milestone match result.
The India vs Afghanistan bilateral series will continue as they head for a three-match ODI series starting on Saturday, June 13. This win will boost the confidence of the Men in Blue ahead of the series and as for Afghanistan, they will try their best to make a solid comeback.
Read More: India’s biggest Test wins: Top 5 wins after defeat to Afghanistan
