In a commanding performance, India clinched a seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the first T20I at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. The win puts India ahead 1-0 in the three-match series.
Afghanistan batted first and posted 156 runs for eight wickets, bolstered by Azmatullah Omarzai’s gritty unbeaten score of 64. But it was Arshdeep Singh who stole the spotlight with his exceptional bowling figures of 3 for 19.
During India’s chase, Abhishek Sharma led the charge with a spectacular knock of 82 runs off just 32 balls, which included seven fours and seven sixes. Ishan Kishan contributed significantly as well, adding 42 runs from 33 balls. Together, they formed an explosive partnership worth 121 runs for the second wicket that decimated Afghanistan’s efforts.
India started their innings cautiously but quickly gained momentum. Sanju Samson flicked a ball through midwicket early on but fell victim to Omarzai after scoring just ten runs. Following his dismissal at a score of 18 for one, Abhishek took control.
A remarkable performance saw him reach a career milestone of over 6,000 T20 runs—making him the second-fastest player to achieve this feat in just 3,420 balls.
The aggression continued as both Sharma and Kishan attacked Fazalhaq Farooqi’s fifth over, amassing an impressive 26 runs within it. Reaching fifty runs came easy for them in merely four overs and they torched Mohammed Nabi’s bowling soon after.
By the time Abhishek secured his twelfth T20I fifty off just 22 balls—complete with six fours and three sixes—India had already reached their hundred run mark in only eight overs. They wrapped up their innings impressively in just 13.4 overs.