India completed a dominant 3-0 series sweep of Afghanistan with a crushing 127-run victory in Delhi, capped by one of the most explosive batting performances in T20I history from Abhishek Sharma.
A Record-Shattering Century
Batting first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, India got off to a scarcely believable start, racing to 100 runs off just the first six overs — a new Indian powerplay record. At the heart of it was Abhishek Sharma, who produced a innings for the ages. He reached his half-century in just 16 balls at a strike rate of 345.45, before continuing his assault to bring up a century in only 30 balls — the fastest T20I hundred ever recorded against a full-member nation, and the third-fastest in the format’s history overall. His innings of 108 was built on 11 sixes and 9 fours, meaning every single run he scored came in boundaries — a T20I record for the highest percentage of an innings scored in fours and sixes alone.
Rashid Khan eventually ended the carnage, inducing an edge behind the stumps, but not before Abhishek had rewritten the record books. He now holds the record for the most centuries scored in 30 balls or fewer, and in 40 balls or fewer, by any batter in the format.
Samson Provides the Finishing Touch
With the platform set, Sanju Samson provided composed support, top-scoring for his side with a well-constructed 50 off 35 balls, ensuring India’s total didn’t fall away despite the loss of key wickets in the middle overs, including a needless run-out of Tilak Varma. Despite some late reverse-swing pressure that slowed India’s charge, they still posted a formidable 221/7 in their 20 overs — a total that always looked out of Afghanistan’s reach.
Afghanistan’s Chase Collapses
Afghanistan’s response never got going. Chasing 222, the visitors were bowled out for just 94 in 14.1 overs, with India’s bowling attack delivering a disciplined, ruthless performance. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravi Bishnoi were the standout performers, each finishing with excellent figures of 3/25 and 3/26 respectively, sharing the wickets between them to ensure Afghanistan’s innings never found any momentum.
Player of the Match and Series: Abhishek Sharma
Unsurprisingly, Abhishek Sharma was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Series, finishing the three-match series with 229 runs at a remarkable strike rate, headlined by his record-breaking century in the decider.
What It Means
This result completes a statement 3-0 whitewash for India, showcasing extraordinary depth and firepower with the bat, and disciplined variety with the ball. With Varun Chakravarthy still sidelined through injury, the emergence of bowling options like Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravi Bishnoi will offer real selection depth heading into the Asian Games. For Afghanistan, despite the heavy defeat, facing a historic individual innings of this magnitude offers little room for blame — sometimes a performance like Abhishek’s simply cannot be legislated for.
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