India skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bat first against Afghanistan in their one-off cricket Test in New Chandigarh on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar made his India debut on a hot and humid day, with the pitch expected to get slower and lower as the match progresses at India's newest Test venue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India, ranked third in world Test rankings, would be looking to bounce back after suffering a 2-0 defeat to South Africa at home in November in their most recent Test outing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The match is not part of the World Test Championship cycle, but a key game for Afghanistan who played their debut five-day game in India in 2018.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Since then, Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, have played 12 Tests and won four.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Afghans handed a Test debut to left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote and went in with three seamers and two spinners.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Teams<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Afsar Zazai (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman, Mohammad Saleem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG), Sharfuddoula (BAN)<\/p>\r\n\r\n
TV Umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/India-Opt-to-Bat-Against-Afghanistan-as-Manav-Suthar-Makes-Test-Debut.jpeg", "alt_img": "India vs Afghanistan Test", "alt_title": "India Opt to Bat Against Afghanistan as Manav Suthar Makes Test Debut", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Shubman Gill Wins Toss, India Opt to Bat Against Afghanistan as Manav Suthar Makes Test Debut On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "India captain Shubman Gill chose to bat first against Afghanistan in the one-off Test at New Chandigarh, with left-arm spinner Manav Suthar making his Test debut for the hosts.", "seo_keywords": "India Vs Afghanistan Test, Shubman Gill, Manav Suthar, India Cricket Team, Afghanistan Cricket Team, IND Vs AFG Test", "tag": null, "tagging": "India Vs Afghanistan Test,Shubman Gill,Manav Suthar,India Cricket Team,Afghanistan Cricket Team,IND Vs AFG Test", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "shubman-gill-wins-toss-india-opt-to-bat-against-afghanistan-as-manav-suthar-makes-test-debut", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "186", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2026-06-06 09:43:03", "updated": "2026-06-06 09:43:03", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "India Vs Afghanistan Test, Shubman Gill, Manav Suthar, India Cricket Team, Afghanistan Cricket Team, IND Vs AFG Test", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "19", "jio_date": "2026-06-06 09:43:03", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": "Latest Cricket News", "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/shubman-gill-wins-toss-india-opt-to-bat-against-afghanistan-as-manav-suthar-makes-test-debut-197613" }