India, June 8 -- For four days in a row, Richard Pybus fronted the media as Afghanistan's representative, the new head coach repeatedly invoking 'naivete' and 'extreme rustiness' to wish away their terrible hammering at the hands of India in New Chandigarh. One-off Tests usually don't throw up too many takeaways, but there was an obvious one - Afghanistan have a long way to go before they can even dream of hoping to push the bigger boys.

But what of India? What did Shubman Gill and his boys achieve, beyond an expected pummelling of their overmatched visitors, who rolled over well inside three days by an innings and 300 runs? What are the tangible gains from this standalone fixture, a rare stretch of red-ball cricket at home in a calendar...