India vs Afghanistan - Five talking points at the end of the match
After India compiled a sizeable 474 in the first innings, the home team's bowlers ran through the cream of Afghanistan's batting line-up as they were bowled out for a paltry 109, still trailing by 365 runs, in the one-off Test in Bengaluru, on Friday (June 15).
India also opted to enforce the follow-on as they look to wrap up the proceedings. The second innings of the Afghans was no better, as they fell short of their first-innings target by six runs, lending India their hugest win in terms of margin (innings and 262 runs) and also their fastest (just two days to complete the game).
Even with a whole lot of hype surrounding Afghan's two mystery spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Rahman, and with the presence of batsmen like Rahmat Shah and Asghar Stanikzai among others, Afghanistan's fate was to taste bitter failure in their first outing in all-whites, making it look as if they were not ready for the big stage yet, after all.
Nevertheless, the match would go down in the annals of history, with Afghanistan becoming the 12th team overall to play Test cricket. It's now time to take a look into the main talking points that the historic Test match has left us, as the Indians ready themselves for a much-more tedious to England that awaits them.
#1 Unfamiliarity of Afghans
Having played long bouts of limited-over cricket, and with the team boasting largely of limited-over specialists, it now seems not an astonishing event that Afghanistan faltered.
A look into their innings might have said the same, with a lot of loose shots spread throughout their stint at the crease, on both occasions.
At least eleven Afghan wickets fell across both innings, with the batsmen trying to play shots on balls that could have been left alone. History says that Australia is the only team to win their first ever test match, and that was way back in the late-nineteenth century, in the first ever Test match that was played - there had to be a winner.
Zimbabwe drew their first ever Test, while all other nations lost their debut games. A deciding factor might certainly have been the lack of familiarity to play in Test conditions, and that is the same factor that could have affected the Afghans here.
Same can be spoken of the bowling department, with the bowlers at a loss on how to counter the Indians almost on all occasions.
Rashid and Mujeeb were the main bowlers, just like in other formats, but they couldn't replicate their success with the red ball.