Manav Suthar, fresh from India, is on trial with five wickets for Warwickshire

Manav Suthar continued his impressive run in red ball cricket after the Indian spinner claimed 5 wickets for Warwickshire against Essex in the County Championship. His spell helped Warwickshire seal a comfortable eight-wicket win in Division One.

Suthar was wicketless in Warwickshire’s first innings but made a big impact when Essex returned to bat. The left-arm spinner bowled 24 overs and finished with 5/75 as Essex were dismissed for 189, leaving Warwickshire with just 133 runs to chase.

Speaking after his last outing in the County Championship, Suthar’s performance stood out as Warwickshire moved into contention at the top of Division 1. Victory was completed in just 26 overs, with Zen Malik providing the initial impetus before Dan Mousley and Sam Hain led the team over the finish line.

Suthar has now taken 26 goals in five Championship games this season, including two five-wicket hauls. His latest effort also came after a breakthrough start to his Test career in India, where he quickly established himself as a promising option in the spin department.

The 24-year-old made his Test debut against Afghanistan in June, taking 6/33 in his first innings. He followed this up with a match haul of 10 wickets against Sri Lanka in Galle, taking 4/76 and 6/55 to become the youngest Indian spinner to take 10 wickets in an away Test.

FIVE STAR MANAV SUTHAR

Suthar’s five for was a key turning point in Warwickshire’s victory. After Essex nullified Warwickshire’s first-innings advantage, the spinner removed some crucial batting runs to keep the visitors under pressure.

Paul Walter fell after hitting 42 while Dean Elgar’s final innings at Chelmsford ended when he picked out Suthar at short leg. The spinner then dismissed Matt Critchley, George Bell and two of the last three Essex batsmen as the innings quickly collapsed.

Suthar’s efforts were complemented by Chris Woakes who took 3/33 as Essex were bowled out for 189. Warwickshire then made 133 without much trouble to record their fourth win in five matches.

OTHER INDIANS IN DISTRICT CRICKET

Other Indian players in the event had mixed fortunes. R Sai Kishore produced a determined 71 off 131 balls for Gloucestershire against Middlesex, helping his side reduce their first innings deficit to 30 runs in the second division.

Mukesh Kumar went wicketless in Nottinghamshire’s first innings against Sussex, while Jaydev Unadkat had earlier impressed for Sussex with 4/83.

Kuldeep Yadav also failed to take a wicket for Yorkshire against Somerset, finishing with 0/31 from seven overs. Contributed 11 runs in Yorkshire’s first innings.

For Surrey, Auqib Nabi was unable to hit the ball as Glamorgan reached 339/5 at the end of the second day.

Warwickshire’s win leaves them awaiting results on fellow title contenders Somerset and Nottinghamshire before their position at the top of Division 1 becomes clear ahead of the final round of fixtures.

– The end

Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

17 Sep 2026 09:25 IST