India’s newest Test spinner Manav Suthar announced himself on the international stage in spectacular fashion on Monday, claiming six wickets for 33 runs against Afghanistan in the one-off Test in New Chandigarh and putting his side firmly in control of the contest.

The left-arm spinner’s remarkable spell dismantled Afghanistan’s batting order, helping India bowl out the visitors for 152 and enforce the follow-on. The performance also earned Suthar a place in the record books, as he registered the third-best innings figures by an Indian on Test debut.

Back in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, celebrations broke out as Suthar’s longtime coach, Dheeraj Sharma, reflected on the journey that brought his pupil to this moment. Sharma had travelled 350 kilometres to Chandigarh on Sunday to witness Suthar’s international debut but returned home before the spinner’s historic achievement unfolded.

“Poori dhoom hai abhi yahan toh,” Sharma said while describing the atmosphere in their hometown.

“The kid has single-mindedly worked on his game for the last six to seven years. He has performed at every level and this is just the reward of all of that. He is such a disciplined player,” he added.

Sharma also noted that Suthar’s rise had been closely monitored for some time. “The BCCI had been tracking him for a very long time, but to play in Tests you have to pay your dues, you have to be mature enough. You know the level of competition for every single place in the team,” he said.

The PCA Stadium pitch offered assistance to spin, with uneven bounce, dust and turn creating challenges for batters. Yet Suthar appeared more threatening than his fellow spinners, consistently exploiting the conditions through sharp turn and disciplined control.

Reflecting on his approach, Suthar said, “The wicket was offering some help and my strength is getting the ball to turn. So, my aim was to extract as much turn as possible because the pitch was assisting. At the same time, I wanted to keep bowling in good areas and hit the ideal length consistently, because that was where the help was coming from.”

According to Sharma, years of technical refinement laid the foundation for such control. Adjustments to Suthar’s alignment, release point and run-up helped improve both bounce and flight, key features of his bowling on debut.

With the pitch expected to deteriorate further, Suthar could yet add to his tally. Four more wickets would make him only the second Indian after Narendra Hirwani to claim a 10-wicket haul on Test debut.

For now, however, his immediate reward may be another opportunity in India colours. As Sharma put it, “Whenever, wherever you get your chance, you’ll have to grab it… Test cricket is pure skill. And I am glad he’s made it count on his debut.”