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India vs Afg Test Updates: Rahul, Sudharsan steady India

Sat, 06 June 2026

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11:06

Rahul, Sudharsan steady India

India 69-1 (18 ovs) vs Afg | SCORECARD

Rahul plays a beautiful straight drive offering the full face of the bat to drive a full delivery from Saleem down the ground for a four.

The next ball pitched back of length swings sharply into Rahul, who is struck on the pads. Afghanistan didn't appeal for LBW assuming an inside edge. But this was quite close as the ball would have gone on to hit the off-stump but the point of impact of ball hitting the pads was umpire's call.

Rahul making most of any loose balls, as this time he flicks Saleem through midwicket for a four as the pacer overpitches.

In the next over, Sudharsan punches Omarzai past the fielder at point for two runs before he plays a delightful flick square on the leg side for a four.

Sudharsan takes a single as he makes a bright start, racing to 15 from 16 balls.

After a great run with the bat in the IPL, Sudharsan looks to have carried his good form in this Test match.

Saleem's full delivery is driven down the ground past mid-on by Sudharsan for another wonderful boundary.

He plays another nicely-timed off a full delivery in the covers but can't beat the fielder and keeps strike with one from the last ball.

10:49

Jaiswal out for 24; India lose 1st wicket

India 46-1 (15 ovs) vs Afg | SCORECARD

Saleem continues as Jaiswal keeps out the first four balls before he square drives a full wide delivery past point for a four.

However, he falls off the very next delivery. The left-hander misses a glance off a short ball down the leg side but gets a fine edge and is caught behind by the wicketkeeper.

Jaiswal annoyed with himself at the manner of his dismissal as he walks back after scoring 24 from 32 balls.

Omarzai comes back into the attack as replaces Ziaur, who bowled a good first spell of six overs.

Omarzai sticks to a line just outside the off-stump as Rahul leaves before he ducks under a bouncer. He defends the last two balls to end a good over from Omarzai.

New batter Sai Sudharsan taps Saleem on the leg side before he pushes the next into the off-side and does the same third ball.

Saleem bowls a bouncer as Sudharsan easily ducks under the short ball to play out a maiden over from the pacer.

Rahul not looking totally convincing so far. This time he fails to execute the pull shot off Omarzai for a single through square leg.

Sudharsan keeps out the next four balls before he flicks a full delivery past mid-on for a four to get off the mark.

10:30

India off to a watchful start on Day 1

India 37-0 (11 ovs) vs Afg | SCORECARD

Rahul is beaten as he looks to cut Ziaur off a short wide ball. There is a confident appeal for caught behind from the close-in fielders but the umpire is unmoved.

That looks mighty close but Afghanistan decide against the review as wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai is not sure.

And Afghanistan's players especially Ziaur is not happy after seeing the replays as there is a clear spike on the UltraEdge when the ball passes the bat.

Afghanistan can't believe that they missed out a wicket by not taking the review.

10:23

India off to a watchful start on Day 1

India 37-0 (10 ovs) vs Afg | SCORECARD

Rahul gets one off the middle as he flicks the full delivery from Ziaur through midwicket for a four.

He slaps the next ball but can't beat point before the next ball goes towards mid-off followed by a leave.

Rahul growing in confidence as he gets on top of the bounce to punch Ziaur through the covers for a four.

First bowling change for Afghanistan as medium pacer Mohammed Saleem comes into the attack to bowl the 10th over.

Jaiswal clips the second ball off his pads for one before Rahul slaps the next past point for two runs.

Rahul mistimes the pull shot for one before Jaiswal smashes the short wide ball through point for a four.

India are 37 for no loss in 10 overs with Jaiswal looking good on 20 from 26 balls, while Rahul has made 16.

10:12

India off to a watchful start on Day 1

Yashasvi Jaiswal

India 21-0 (8 ovs) vs Afg | SCORECARD

The two Afghanistan pacers seems to have found the right length, bowling it back of length and looking for some movement.

This time Jaiswal pushes away from the body as the outswinger from Omarzai takes the edge but it flies past the gully fielder for a four.

Afghanistan need to take any chances that come their way early on and make the new ball count.

Ziaur sticks to a good line outside the off-stump to Rahul, who is looking keen to avoid pushing at ones away from the body. He plays a nicely-timed drive off a full delivery as the point fielder fails to collect cleanly to give away a single.

At the other end, Rahul again indecisive outside the off-stump. He looks to punch Omarzai through the off-side but ends up inside edging the back of length ball back on to his pads.

Rahul struggling with his timing as he mishits the ball on the off-side before missing the flick to get a leg bye.

09:59

India off to a solid start vs Afghanistan

India 15-0 (5 ovs) vs Afg | SCORECARD

Omarzai beats Jaiswal on the outside edge as the left-hander plays away from the body attempting to drive through the off-side.

A few balls later, he punishes Omarzai for missing his length, driving an overpitched once again with a straight bat for his second four past mid-off.

Ziaur gets the ball to jag in sharply as the back of length delivery beats Rahul on the inside edge.

Rahul learns from his mistake as he leaves the next two balls before he has a close shave last ball. He plays a long way away from his crease, as he inside edges the short ball back on his pads.

09:47

India off to a solid start vs Afghanistan

India 11-0 (3 ovs) vs Afg | SCORECARD

Pace bowler Azmatullah Omarzai from the other end. The first ball is down the leg side as Rahul misses the glance before he leaves the next and does the same to the third ball.

Rahul gets forward to defend a full delivery and leaves the last two balls to end Omarzai's first over.

Ziaur from the other end. The pacer's line is too wide of the stumps as Jaiswal easily leaves the first two balls before he takes one on the leg side.

Rahul flicks the last ball, which is overpitched on the stumps, in the gap through midwicket for a four to get off the mark.

That boundary also takes Rahul past the landmark of 9000 runs in first class cricket.

09:38

India elect to bat vs Afghanistan; Suthar debuts

India 6-0 (1 ov) vs Afg | SCORECARD

K L Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the two openers for India, who will look to make most of winning the toss on a good batting track.

Pacer Ziaur Rahman opens the bowling for Afghanistan. The first ball is on the pads as Jaiswal clips it square for a couple of runs to get India off the mark.

The left-hander offers no stroke to the next two balls before he drives a full delivery with a straight bat past mid-off for a four and keeps out the last two balls.

09:13

India elect to bat vs Afghanistan; Suthar debuts

Manav Suthar

Both teams have left-arm spinners making their debut. Manav Suthar will play for the first time for India, while Nangeyalia Kharote has been picked for visitors Afghanistan.

Sai Sudharsan gets another opportunity to prove his worth in Test cricket as he is slotted at No 3, preferred ahead of Devdutt Padikkal.

Rishabh Pant plays his 50th Test match for India, who have gone in for three spinners in Suthar, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav.

Check out the playing XIs:

India: K L Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (Captain), Rishabh Pant (w/k), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Afsar Zazai (w/k), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, Mohammad Saleem Safi.

09:04

India win toss; elect to bat vs Afghanistan

India captain Shubman Gill has won the toss and elected to bat against Afghanistan in the one-off Test in Mullanpur.

'We will bat first. It is hot and humid and the pitch will get slower and lower as the match goes on,' he says at the toss.

A special match for Gill as he leads India for the first time at his homeground.

'It is very special, I grew up not very far from here. It is a privilege to captain India at this ground,' he added.

Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar will make his debut for hosts India.

08:59

'A good pitch for batters'

Pitch Report:

The pitch looks beautiful, there could be some deterioration as the match goes on but it will be a good pitch for batters, says Michael Clarke in his pitch report from Mullanpur.

08:54

Manav Suthar To Make India Debut

Manav Suthar

A memorable day for Rajasthan's left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who will make his India debut, in the one-off Test against Afghanistan starting on Saturday.

He received his maiden India cap from team-mate and fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

Suthar, with a more classical action and ability to make the ball hang in the air, looks to be the man for the future. He seems to possess the ability to challenge both outside and inside edge of the bat.

He was preferred ahead of Vidarbha all-rounder Harsh Dubey, who looks a more defensive bowler, mostly bowling straight lines. But he does come across a clean hitter, something that makes him a package like Jadeja for foreign conditions.

Suthar, the 23-year-old from Ganganagar in Rajasthan, has been knocking on the doors of the Test team for the last couple of years. A regular at India A level, Suthar has finally got the coveted opportunity, with Jadeja rested and Axar Patel sidelined.

Suthar has taken 129 wickets in 29 games including three 10-wicket match hauls and six five-wicket hauls.

08:38

New-Look India Eye Winning Start Vs Afghanistan

Welcome to the coverage of the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan at the New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, Mullanpur, on Saturday.

Battling demons of a horrendous home Test run in the not-so-distant past but nevertheless a formidable unit, India are pitted against a plucky Afghanistan in the only Test, that might help the hosts figure out a balanced combination.

In 2018, Afghanistan lost 10 wickets in a session between lunch and tea on the second day of the Test against India. The next 10 fell by the wayside between tea and end of day's play which also was end of the game.

However, the Indians would not have forgotten the 0-2 drubbing handed by a meticulously prepared South Africa last year and would do well to not take the opposition lightly despite the gulf in experience.

A stable No.3 and Ravindra Jadeja's potential successor in red ball cricket are the two pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill will like to fix during this game before the important two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in August.

Whether Sai Sudharsan is persisted with, or the stylish Devdutt Padikkal gets to add to his tally of two games, will also be a major decision for the Indian team management during this game.

There is not much to choose between the two youngsters and a good score against this Afghan bowling attack wouldn't be an indicator of how things will pan out against better teams.

Jadeja has been rested for this match but this is a fact that the Indian selectors and team management are trying to look at options to prepare themselves for life beyond the Rajkot all-rounder.

The reason for this search is his bowling form, which has deteriorated considerably and he hasn't been as incisive as the team management would have liked.

The choice is now between a classical slow left-arm orthodox bowler from Rajasthan named Manav Suthar and the more utility 'bits and pieces' Vidarbha cricketer Harsh Dubey.

Since Afghanistan's first ever Test against India in 2018 in Bengaluru, which the hosts won inside two days, it has played 11 more games till June 2026.

And India, in this same period, have played 67 Tests with Rishabh Pant alone being a part of 49 of them. Incidentally Pant hadn't yet made his Test debut when Afghanistan last played India.

From the 2018 squad, only KL Rahul is a part of this current Indian Test team while Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and batter Rahmat Shah were also the ones who played that game.

Afghanistan's entire batting line-up has a combined total of nine Test tons compared to the 39 that this new-look Indian team has logged.

India vs Afg Test Updates: Rahul, Sudharsan steady India

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