AFG vs IND 2026: Afghanistan vs India Highlights & Review – 3rd T20I
India completed a 3-0 whitewash over Afghanistan after winning the third T20I comprehensively at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday, September 17.
India dominated from the outset after Ibrahim Zadran won the toss and invited the Men in Blue to bat first. Abhishek Sharma was the aggressor, as he brought up his half-century in just 16 balls. However, he wasn’t content with his performance as he continued pulverising the Afghan bowlers to bring up a 30-ball century. He was eventually dismissed in the 10th over for a 34-ball 108.
Sanju Samson played second fiddle quite well and was eventually dismissed for 50 off 35 balls. Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer were all run-out, while Shivam Dube failed to capitalise on his start. Despite reaching 142/0 inside the 10th over, India finished at 221/7, with Afghanistan pulling things back nicely.
Afghanistan got off to a fantastic start as 15 runs came off the first over, which was bowled by Nitish Kumar Reddy. However, Axar Patel struck twice in the fourth over to break Afghanistan’s momentum.
At the end of the power play, the Afghans finished on 51/4. Ravi Bishnoi and Nitish combined to bamboozle the middle and lower order of Afghanistan.
In the end, Afghanistan were bowled out for just 94 in 14.1 overs, as India won the match by 127 runs to complete a whitewash.
Top batting performance – Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma broke the record for the fastest ton in T20Is by a full-member batter. He smashed his century in just 30 balls. During his 34-ball 108, the left-handed batter amassed nine fours and 11 sixes, finishing with a strike rate of 317.65.
Best bowling spell – Nitish Kumar Reddy
Nitish Kumar Reddy continued from where he had left off with the ball in the last game. After giving away 15 runs in the first over, he bounced back strongly to finish with figures of 3/25 in four overs. He finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series, bagging six wickets in three games at an economy rate of 8.78.
Records Broken and Major Milestones Achieved
- Highest individual scores in overs 1-6 in men’s T20Is – Abhishek Sharma 76 (22).
- Abhishek recorded the fastest T20I ton by a batter among full-member nations.
- Abhishek recorded the second-most sixes for India in a T20I innings – 11.
- Abhishek tied Virat Kohli on the list of Indian players with most T20 centuries (10).
- Most 200-plus totals in men’s T20Is – 53 by India.
- 221/7 is the second-highest T20I total against Afghanistan.
- 127 runs in the highest defeat margin for Afghanistan in T20Is.
- India have equalled Canada as teams with most number of wins (10) by 100 or more runs.
Who won the Player of the Match?
Abhishek Sharma won the Player of the Match award for his blistering knock with the bat. Thanks to his whirlwind effort, India didn’t have to pay the price for a batting debacle in the second half of their innings. Abhishek showed why he is second on the list of top-ranked batters as per ICC rankings.
Who won the Player of the Series?
Abhishek Sharma won the Player of the Series award after finishing as the highest run-getter by a distance. In three matches, he aggregated 229 runs at an impressive average of 76.33 and a staggering strike rate of 269.41. This performance will give him a lot of confidence heading into the Asian Games.
When is the next match?
This was the last match in this series. India will now play a one-off T20I against Japan on Tuesday, September 22. Meanwhile, Afghanistan will take on Japan on Thursday, September 24, in the Asian Games.
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