On this day: Ajinkya Rahane's gesture wins Afghanistan hearts

New Delhi, June 15: Minnows Afghanistan, on this day, two years ago lost their first-ever Test match against India at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Their maiden Test appearance ended harshly as Ajinkya Rahane-led Team India thrashed them by an innings and 262 runs inside two days.

The match, however, is widely remembered for Rahane's heart-warming gesture during the post-match ceremony. Rahane invited the opposition players during the trophy celebration and they also clicked pictures together, much to the delight of the away supporters.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) recalled the moment and uploaded a photograph on their Instagram handle and their post read: "#OnThisDay in 2018 #SpiritofCricket".

After electing to bat first, India openers Murali Vijay (105) and Shikhar Dhawan (107) slammed respective centuries to set the tone for the hosts. Half-centuries from KL Rahul (54) and Hardik Pandya (71) helped India reach 474 in their first essay.

Afghanistan were bundled out for just 109 in their first innings as Ravichandran Ashwin ended up with a four-wicket haul. Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja scalped two wickets each in the innings.

The second innings wasn't much better for Afghanistan batters either as they were dismissed for 103. Jadeja picked up four wickets while Umesh Yadav scalped three to complete India's emphatic win.

Afganistan has so far have featured in four Tests, having lost two and won one each against Bangladesh and Ireland respectively.

This year, they will be playing their first-ever Test Down Under as they are currently scheduled to take on Australia in a one-off Test on November 21 at the Perth Cricket Stadium.