India vs Afghanistan Test: 3 major learnings from Shubman Gill and Co's lopsided victory in New Chandigarh

India made a winning return to the Test arena after nearly seven months with an innings and 300-run thrashing of Afghanistan – their biggest victory ever in the format – inside three days in New Chandigarh.

India had hit a new low in Test cricket last year after suffering a 0-2 sweep at the hands of South Africa – their second whitewash on home soil in the format in the span of a year, one that resulted in them slipping to the sixth spot in the ICC World Test Championship standings.

Afghanistan aren't exactly on the same level as South Africa, and the one-off Test at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium is not part of the WTC cycle, meaning the victory will have no impact on their ongoing campaign.

However, the ruthless manner in which the Shubman Gill-led side dismantled the Afghans is a good sign for the team in a format in which they have faced the most criticism over the last couple of years.

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Let's also not forget the fact that the Indian team pulling off a record win in New Chandigarh, the country's newest Test venue, wasn't exactly full strength either, yet another indicator of just how strong the team's bench strength really is thanks to a robust domestic structure.

With the India-Afghanistan Test concluding inside three days, we take a look at the three lessons that captain Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir will have learned from this assignment:

A possible successor to Jadeja in Suthar

Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar was the toast of India's dominant win in the one-off Test, earning the Player of the Match for his haul of 6/33 in his maiden appearance for the Indian team. And the timing of his sensational debut couldn't have been better from the team's perspective, with the legendary Ravichandran Ashwin having already retired and long-time spin-twin Ravindra Jadeja in the twilight of his career.

Suthar shares many similarities with Jadeja – both are left-arm finger-spin bowling all-rounders, and rely on accuracy for prising out wickets. And while 37-year-old Jadeja is likely to join Ashwin in retirement in the near future, Suthar is just getting started at the age of 23. The Rajasthan spinner's sensational debut, however, also means that Axar Patel, another all-rounder bowling left-arm finger spin, will be under a lot more pressure to retain his place in the Test team.

Pant the Test cricketer continues to shine bright

Rishabh Pant has had a tough few months lately. It was largely under his watch that India had suffered a 0-2 Test series sweep at the hands of South Africa on home soil late last year. That was followed by a disastrous Indian Premier League season, in which Lucknow Super Giants fared even more poorly than last year and finished at the bottom of the 10-team standings.

Rishabh Pant struck a lively 81 in the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan in New Chandigarh. AP

Pant not only was removed from the role of Test vice-captain recently, but he also stepped down as LSG captain after two forgettable seasons and has been under pressure to deliver with the bat, something he wasn't able to do in the IPL.

Pant the Test cricketer, however, remains a superstar despite everything that has happened in recent months. The southpaw struggled to accelerate in the IPL but was playing his unorthodox shots with ease once he was back in whites, producing a sparkling 81 off 121 deliveries that contained six fours and three sixes, with Pant perfectly mixing caution with aggression. And behind the stumps, the 28-year-old remained chirpy as ever, ensuring his teammates remained energetic at all times in the energy-sapping conditions.

Sudharsan remains India's No 3 for the foreseeable future

Another major talking point heading into the one-off Test in New Chandigarh was the debate around the No 3 slot in the batting order. B Sai Sudharsan had been backed for the role since the England tour last year but was unable to secure the spot, facing strong competition from Devdutt Padikkal, who emerged as a worthy contender following an impressive domestic run with Karnataka.

The team management decided to stick with Sudharsan, who had an outstanding run with the Gujarat Titans in the IPL recently, in the end, and the southpaw thanked captain Gill and coach Gambhir for backing him with a knock of 81 off 104 deliveries, collecting 13 fours along the way.

It would be safe to assume that Sudharsan will be walking in at one down in the upcoming tours of Sri Lanka and New Zealand, where Gill and Co. play two Tests each. And unless he suffers a major loss of form, the Tamil Nadu batter should remain the first-choice No 3 batter in the marquee five-Test series against Australia early next year as well.