India crush Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs

India won by an innings and 300 runs in the opening Test of the Afghanistan tour of India 2026, with Shubman Gill’s 126 setting up a crushing victory before India’s bowlers finished the job emphatically. The result gives India a 1-0 lead in the four-match tour after a thoroughly one-sided contest across three innings.

In the first match of the series, India laid the platform with a commanding 564/8 declared in 127.0 overs. Gill led the way with 126, while KL Rahul struck 100 and Sai Sudharsan added 81 in an innings that gave India complete control. Afghanistan did find one major success story with the ball through Mohammad Saleem, who claimed 6 wickets in the innings, while Ziaur Rahman and Hashmatullah Shahidi picked up one apiece.

That imposing first-innings total left Afghanistan chasing the match from the outset, and they never recovered. In their first innings, they were dismissed for 152 in 58.4 overs. Rahmat Shah fought hardest with 60, Hashmatullah Shahidi made 20, and Sediqullah Atal contributed 17, but the rest of the batting line-up could not withstand India’s attack. Manav Suthar was the chief destroyer with 6 wickets, Prasidh Krishna took 3, and Washington Sundar chipped in with 1 as India enforced their dominance.

Asked to bat again, Afghanistan showed only brief resistance before folding for 112 in 35.5 overs. Sediqullah Atal top-scored with 42, Rahmanullah Gurbaz made 24, and Rahmat Shah added 13, but India’s spinners closed the match out ruthlessly. Washington Sundar returned 4/36 from 11.0 overs, Kuldeep Yadav claimed 3/30 from 7.5 overs, Mohammed Siraj took 1/11 from 4.0 overs, and Manav Suthar added 1/29 from 10.0 overs.

The decisive moments of the Test all stemmed from India’s first-innings authority. Gill’s century, Rahul’s hundred, and Sudharsan’s 81 ensured Afghanistan spent long periods in the field, and once India had established a lead of 412, the pressure became overwhelming. Rahmat Shah’s 60 in the first innings and Atal’s 42 in the second were the only substantial acts of resistance as India’s varied attack kept striking at regular intervals.

For India, this was the ideal start to the series, extending their lead to 1-0 after Match 1 of 4. The Test is now complete, with three ODIs still to come: India vs Afghanistan on Saturday, June 13, Wednesday, June 17, and Saturday, June 20.

Gill’s 126 was the top score of the match and the innings that shaped everything that followed, while India’s bowlers shared the spoils to underline the gulf between the sides. Manav Suthar’s six-wicket haul in Afghanistan’s first innings broke the match open, and Washington Sundar’s 4/36 in the second innings wrapped it up in style.

NerdSports Stat: India’s margin of victory was exactly 300 runs beyond the innings defeat line — after making 564/8 declared, they dismissed Afghanistan for a combined 264 across two innings.

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