Manav Suthar takes 5-75 as Warwickshire beat Essex by eight wickets at Chelmsford

Fresh from India Test duty, Manav Suthar claimed a five-wicket haul for Warwickshire against Essex at Chelmsford in the County Championship on September 17, 2026, helping his side to an eight-wicket victory.

Suthar, who was wicketless in Warwickshire’s first innings, bowled 24 overs and finished with 5/75 as Essex were dismissed for 189, leaving Warwickshire 133 to chase; the target was reached in 26 overs with Zen Malik providing the initial impetus before Dan Mousley and Sam Hain closed the game. The spinner’s performance stood out as Warwickshire moved into contention at the top of Division One.

Suthar removed a series of key batters as Essex’s second innings collapsed: Paul Walter fell after making 42, Dean Elgar’s final innings at Chelmsford ended when he picked out short leg off Suthar, and the spinner later accounted for Matt Critchley, George Bell and two of Essex’s final three wickets. Chris Woakes complemented Suthar with figures of 3/33.

The successful chase completed Warwickshire’s fourth victory in five matches in the Championship.

Suthar has now taken 26 wickets in five Championship matches this season, including two five-wicket hauls. The 24-year-old made his Test debut against Afghanistan in June and took 6/33 in his first innings; he followed that with a 10-wicket match haul against Sri Lanka in Galle, claiming 4/76 and 6/55 to become the youngest Indian spinner to take 10 wickets in an away Test.

Other Indian players in county action produced mixed returns: R Sai Kishore scored 71 off 131 balls for Gloucestershire against Middlesex to help restrict the first-innings deficit to 30 in Division Two; Mukesh Kumar went wicketless in Nottinghamshire’s first innings against Sussex while Jaydev Unadkat earlier took 4/83 for Sussex. Kuldeep Yadav finished 0/31 from seven overs and made 11 runs in Yorkshire’s first innings, and Auqib Nabi was unable to make an impact as Glamorgan reached 339/5 at the end of the second day.

Warwickshire now await the results involving Somerset and Nottinghamshire before their position at the top of Division One becomes clearer ahead of the final round of fixtures.