New Delhi: Abhishek Sharma produced a blistering batting display as India registered a dominant seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan, taking a 1-0 lead in the opening match of their three-match T20I series on Sunday, 13 September, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
The three-match series began with India winning the toss and electing to field first, as they quickly triggered a top-order collapse for Afghanistan. However, Azmatullah Omarzai (unbeaten 64 off 44) and Mohammad Nabi (33 off 27) launched a counterattack to revive the innings. Arshdeep Singh impressed with the ball, finishing with figures of 3/19. While chasing 157, Abhishek Sharma smashed a spectacular 82 off just 32 balls, with Ishan Kishan providing excellent support with a composed 42 off 33. Their commanding partnership turned the game in India’s favour as they chased down the target in just 13.4 overs, with 38 balls to spare.
India opted to field first, with Jasprit Bumrah, who returned to the T20I side after recovering from injury, striking with the very second ball to dismiss Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck. Captain Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal tried to steady the innings, but the skipper was run out. Afghanistan then lost another three wickets in the next three overs, enduring a dramatic top-order collapse and slipping to 43/5. With Afghanistan in deep trouble, it looked like they would struggle to post a competitive total under pressure. However, Azmatullah Omarzai, along with Mohammad Nabi, revived the innings after the early collapse and staged a spirited counterattack. The duo stitched together a crucial 83-run partnership off 58 balls for the sixth wicket, steadying Afghanistan and putting the innings back on track. Arshdeep Singh then returned during the death overs and bowled superbly to dismiss Mohammad Nabi for a composed 33 off 27 balls. After that, Afghanistan lost another two wickets, but Azmatullah Omarzai continued his determined fightback. He combined with Mujeeb Ur Rahman to add 21 crucial runs, before smashing two sixes off Shivam Dube in the final over, helping Afghanistan cross the 150-run mark and finish on a respectable 156/8 after 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh claimed three wickets for 19 runs. Eventually, he registered an unwanted record by bowling 51 wides—the most by any bowler for a team since January 2025. His 51 wides accounted for 7.4% of all the balls he bowled during the period. Renegades’ R Ngarava and West Indies’ Jason Holder followed with 38 wides each, while New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy and West Indies’ Romario Shepherd bowled 36 each. Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy claimed one wicket each, as India produced a disciplined bowling and sharp fielding effort to restrict Afghanistan to a modest total.
While chasing, India suffered an early setback as Sanju Samson was dismissed for 10 off 8 balls, giving Afghanistan a brief glimmer of hope of defending their modest total. However, that hope quickly disappeared as Abhishek Sharma unleashed a blistering assault, with Ishan Kishan providing the perfect support at the other end. The pair stitched together a stunning 121-run partnership off just 53 balls for the second wicket, powering India to 82/1 by the end of the powerplay. Abhishek Sharma reached his half-century in just 22 balls and continued his aggressive assault, smashing a blistering 82 off 32 deliveries at an outstanding strike rate of 256, with seven fours and seven sixes. He eventually fell short of a century, but his blistering knock had already done enough damage to put India in a commanding position. Ishan Kishan played a fluent knock of 42 off 33 balls, hitting five boundaries and one six, before being dismissed by Mohammad Nabi. Unbeaten Shreyas Iyer (8 off 5) and Tilak Varma (3 off 4) then completed the chase as India reached 157/3 in just 13.4 overs. India registered a commanding seven-wicket victory to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. For his explosive batting display, Abhishek Sharma was deservedly named the Player of the Match. The two teams will now meet in the second T20I on Tuesday, 15 September, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
