India sealed an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, cruising to a seven-wicket win in Delhi thanks to a blazing opening stand and disciplined bowling.
Afghanistan’s Familiar Struggle
Winning the toss for the 11th time in his last 12 international matches, captain Shreyas Iyer once again asked Afghanistan to bowl first. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh were phenomenal with the new ball once more, with Bumrah bowling a maiden in his opening over that included a well-disguised yorker. Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell early for his second duck of the series, top-edging a low-percentage shot to mid-on. Captain Ibrahim Zadran fought hard for his side, mixing risk-taking with the odd mishit that came off, but his innings ended on 37 off 33 balls when he skied a catch to deep midwicket off Nitish Kumar Reddy, India’s fifth bowling option. Rashid Khan provided late impetus with the bat, attacking the bowling alongside Mohammad Nabi to help push Afghanistan to 159/8 — three more than their total in the series opener, but still well short of a defendable score on a small ground.
Samson and Abhishek Seal the Chase
India’s chase was even more emphatic than the first match, with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma putting on a blazing opening stand that took India to 82 without loss inside the powerplay. Samson started cautiously before exploding in the final three overs, eventually finishing unbeaten on 57. Abhishek added 39 before Rashid Khan produced a brilliant spell to briefly slow India’s charge, also removing captain Shreyas Iyer for 11. However, the early damage was already done — India comfortably reached 163/3 in just 14.5 overs, with Ishan Kishan finishing unbeaten on 38, to complete a seven-wicket win with 31 balls to spare.
Bowling Standout: Nitish Kumar Reddy
With Varun Chakravarthy ruled out of the series due to a side strain, Ravi Bishnoi came into the side and played his 50th T20I for India. It was Nitish Kumar Reddy, however, who stood out with the ball, picking up three important wickets to break Afghanistan’s momentum at key stages and finishing with figures of 3/24.
Player of the Match: Nitish Kumar Reddy
Nitish Kumar Reddy was named Player of the Match for his three-wicket haul, though Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 57 was rated the standout individual performance by Cricinfo’s MVP metric.
What It Means
With this win, India have wrapped up the three-match series 2-0 with one game still to play, continuing their dominant recent record against Afghanistan. The series victory also offers depth options for India ahead of the Asian Games, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi still waiting in the wings for a home T20I debut. For Afghanistan, producing an almost identical total to the series opener but suffering an even more emphatic defeat will be a concerning pattern that needs addressing before the dead-rubber final match.
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