More than six months after suffering their heaviest Test defeat, India will renew their acquaintance with the red-ball format through a one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting on Saturday when the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium will go into the history books as the country’s 31st Test venue.

Beaten by a massive 408 runs by South Africa in November in Guwahati’s debut as a Test centre, India will hope for gladder tidings in a match outside the ambit of the World Test Championship. For the only home Test this calendar year, India have rested the storied bowling duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, as much to keep them fresh for the nine Tests in store between August and March as to try out other options, primary among them one of the uncapped left-arm spin pair of Manav Suthar or Harsh Dubey.