Team India has taken a 1-0 lead in the Test series against Sri Lanka, and the star of the show is young spinner Manav Suthar.
In the first Test played at the Galle International Stadium, Manav Suthar took 6 wickets in the second innings. India, led by Shubman Gill, had given Sri Lanka a big target of 372 runs to chase but thanks to Manav Suthar’s brilliant bowling, Sri Lanka was all out for just 206 runs and India won the match by 165 runs.
With this 6-wicket haul, Manav Suthar has made history. He has become only the second Indian cricketer after Narendra Hirwani to take a 6-wicket haul in each of his first two Test matches.
Manav Suthar had made his Test debut for India in June 2026 against Afghanistan in Mullanpur. In the first innings of that debut match itself, he had taken 6 wickets.
Narendra Hirwani, the only other Indian to achieve this feat, had made his Test debut against the West Indies in Chennai in January 1988 and had taken 8 wickets in both the innings. He played his second Test against New Zealand in November 1988 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where he took 6 wickets for 59 runs in the second innings.
In this first Test against Sri Lanka, Manav Suthar took 4 wickets in the first innings and 6 wickets in the second innings. His total match figures were 10 wickets for 131 runs in 45.2 overs.
At the age of 24 years and 12 days, Manav Suthar has also become the youngest Indian spinner ever to take a 10-wicket haul in an away Test match. He broke the old record held by Harbhajan Singh, who was 28 years and 28 days old when he took 10 wickets for 153 runs against Sri Lanka at the same Galle International Stadium in 2008.
However, the overall record for the youngest Indian bowler to take a 10-wicket haul in an away Test is still with Irfan Pathan. Irfan Pathan was only 20 years and 44 days old when he took 11 wickets against Bangladesh in December 2004 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
Well played Manav Suthar!
