The status of host has been accorded to Afghanistan for these three T20Is. It is perhaps a trivial detail, for the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday swerved to India’s beats as the Men in Blue sauntered to a seven-wicket win in the opener.
Barring a small section of Afghan fans, the 25,165-strong crowd roared as and when Abhishek Sharma (82, 32b, 7×4, 7×6) and Ishan Kishan sparkled on their way to a successful chase of 157 in 13.4 overs. The two southpaws forged a 121-run partnership for the second wicket.
Abhishek was in delightful touch from the get-go. From inside-out drives to power-packed pulls, many of his signature shots bore fruit. Ishan wasn’t as gung-ho, but still made a 33-ball 42.
They came together once Sanju Samson, back into the XI in place of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, mistimed a pull off Azmatullah Omarzai to Darwish Rasooli at deep square-leg. A contribution of 10 will do little to bolster Samson’s spirits, a minor blemish in an otherwise dominant display by Shreyas Iyer & Co.
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India’s frontline bowlers also came good. While Arshdeep Singh took three wickets, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy snared a scalp each.
The only respite for the Afghans was an 83-run stand between Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi. The former finished unbeaten on 64.
Having won the toss on a balmy evening, India set the tone through Bumrah. Returning from an injury layoff, the spearhead quickly made his mark. Though he started with a wide down the leg side that raced to the ropes, he struck off his second legitimate delivery. A back-of-a-length ball cramped Rahmanullah Gurbaz as the opener steered it to Abhishek at slip.
Afghanistan was reduced to 43 for five in seven overs, much of its misery self-inflicted. In the fourth over, Ibrahim Zadran flicked Axar towards midwicket and charged for a second run when Sediqullah Atal sent the skipper back halfway through. It was too late for Ibrahim to reach the safety of the crease, with Axar collecting a pinpoint throw from Ishan to dislodge the bails.
Afghanistan’s situation portended a capitulation, but the pair of Omarzai and Nabi didn’t give in. Omarzai’s cover drive off Bumrah for a four stood out for its majesty. Naib was a suitable ally, ensuring that the partnership swelled steadily. A forehand slap off Arshdeep, which soared over long-on for a maximum, was the pick of Nabi’s strokes. It was a source of mere solace at the close.
Published on Sep 13, 2026