Wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson roared back into form and confidence with a blazing half-century in the powerplay. Sanju Samson took his time and then blazed away to a brilliant knock to seal the deal in the powerplay. But before Sanju Samson‘s knock, it was Nitish Kumar Reddy who stood up with 3 wickets with the ball, and Arshdeep Singh finished with 2 wickets while others got a wicket each to keep Afghanistan to 159/8 in 20 overs.
In reply, Sanju Samson blazed away to a half-century inside the powerplay while Abhishek Sharma blazed away to an explosive start. Thereafter, Ishan Kishan finished things off with an unbeaten 38 off 23 balls as India got to the target in 14.5 overs, winning by 7 wickets after amassing 82 runs in 6 overs. Rashid Khan picked up 3 wickets, but that was to no avail, and they lost another game.
Nitish Kumar Reddy’s 3-wicket haul restricts Afghanistan to 159/8 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, captain Ibrahim Zadran and keeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz came out to open the batting for Afghanistan while Jasprit Bumrah had the ball in hand for India. The openers could not add anything to the tally as it took 9 balls for India to draw first blood, as Gurbaz was the first to depart for a bronze duck to Arshdeep Singh. Sediqullah Atal came out to bat next. Ibrahim took the attack to India while Atal was there at the other end.
The duo added exactly 51 runs for the second wicket before the captain Zadran fell after getting a start, as he fell for 37 off 33 balls with 6 fours to his name to Nitish Kumar Reddy. Gulbadin Naib came out to bat next. Just 8 runs were added to the score before Atal fell for 12 off 15 balls with 2 fours to his name to Ravi Bishnoi. Darwish Rasooli came out to bat next.
Just 8 more runs were added to the score before Naib fell for 10 off 8 balls with one four to his name to Reddy yet again. Azmatullah Omarzai came out to bat next. Rasooli and Omarzai tried to forge some sort of a partnership, with Rasooli being the dominant partner while Omarzai played second fiddle. The duo added 29 runs for the 5th wicket before Omarzai fell for 11 off 10 balls with 2 fours to his name to Axar Patel. Mohammad Nabi came out to bat next.
Just 4 runs were added to the score before Rasooli fell after getting a start, as he fell for 26 off 15 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Arshdeep Singh. Afghanistan were 100/6 in 14.1 overs when Rashid Khan joined Nabi in the middle with 5.5 overs left in the innings.
Nabi and Rashid led Afghanistan’s fightback after they were in a big hole. The duo played normal cricket and got along their merry ways. The duo added 48 runs for the 7th wicket and salvaged the situation for Afghanistan in the end overs. They took the score to 148 before Nabi fell for 20 off 14 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Jasprit Bumrah. Noor Ahmad came out to bat next. The score remained the same when Rashid fell for 28 off 16 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Reddy yet again.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman came out to bat with 5 balls to go in the innings. The duo added 11 runs for the 9th wicket, unbeaten off 5 balls with Noor hitting a maximum off the last ball of the innings. Afghanistan finished with 159/8 in 20 overs, with Noor unbeaten on 7 off 3 balls with one six to his name while Mujeeb was unbeaten on 4 off 3 balls. 4 extras were given by India.
From India’s point of view, it was a decent effort. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/24 in 3 overs. Arshdeep Singh supported him well with figures of 2/35 in 4 overs. Jasprit Bumrah finished with 1/25 in 4 overs. Axar Patel finished with 1/28 in 4 overs. Ravi Bishnoi finished with 1/32 in 4 overs. Shivam Dube bowled an over for 13 runs. This meant that India’s target was set at 160 runs to win off 20 overs to clinch the series 2-0 with a game to spare.
Sanju Samson’s blazing half-century powers India to a convincing series win
Chasing 160 for the series win, keeper batter Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma came out to open the batting for India while Mujeeb Ur Rahman had the ball in hand for Afghanistan. The duo tore apart the Afghan bowling in the power play and sealed the deal for India. It was Abhishek who was the initial aggressor while Sanju took his time to settle in before teeing off. The left-hand-right-hand duo were matching shots for shots and dazzled under the Delhi lights.
India managed to get 82/0 in 6 overs of power play and sealed the deal for India there only. The duo put on 88 runs off 38 balls for the first wicket before Abhishek was the first to depart for 39 off 19 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes to his name to Rashid Khan. Ishan Kishan came out to bat next as Samson completed a splendid half-century in double quick time. Samson and Ishan added 11 runs for the second wicket before Samson departed for 57 off 22 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes to his name to Rashid Khan.
Captain Shreyas Iyer came out to bat next. The game was sealed by the time Ishan and Shreyas got together, and they took their time in scoring the runs. Ishan and Shreyas added 24 runs for the third wicket before Iyer fell for 11 off 11 balls with one six to his name to Rashid Khan, who got his third wicket. Vice-captain Tilak Varma came out to bat next.
Ishan and Tilak made sure there were no further hiccups in the Indian innings. They too took their time for the first part, and then Ishan teed off towards the end to finish things off quickly. The duo added an unbroken 40-run stand for the 4th wicket, with Ishan being the dominant partner. Kishan hit the winning runs as India got to the target inside 14.5 overs. Ishan remained unbeaten on 38 off 23 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name, while Tilak was unbeaten on 15 off 14 balls with 1 four to his name as the chase was done and dusted with ease. 3 extras were given by Afghanistan. India finished with 163/3.
From Afghanistan’s bowling point of view, only one man took all the wickets. Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/36 in 3.5 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman conceded 37 runs in 3 overs. Mohammad Nabi finished with 0/44 in 3 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai finished with 0/25 in 2 overs. Noor Ahmad finished with 0/14 in 2 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled an over for 6 runs. So, India win by 7 wickets again to seal the series 2-0 with a game to spare. Nitish Kumar Reddy was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, India have sealed the series 2-0 with a game to spare. The 3rd and final T20I will be played in New Delhi on Thursday, 17th September, 2026. India would love to complete the whitewash, while Afghanistan would like to pull one back and get their maiden win against India. Can they do it? We shall find out on Thursday. We shall see and find out on that day.
Also Read: AFG vs IND: 3 Reasons For Afghanistan’s Crushing Loss In 1st T20I