Bumrah, Arshdeep skittle Afghanistan for 156 in first T20I

The first of a three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan is being played at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in Delhi. Indian captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first. At the toss, Shreyas confirmed that Vaibhav Suryavanshi was not in the playing eleven for the day, while Jasprit Bumrah was returning to the side. Several Indian players returned from injury for this match. The match also saw a notable first: Vande Mataram was played before an Indian cricket match for the first time in history.

The Afghan batsmen struggled against the Indian bowlers from the very first ball, and half their side was back in the pavilion within seven overs. Bumrah made an impact in his first over itself. After conceding 5 runs including a wide off the first ball, he dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, with Abhishek Sharma taking the catch. Afghanistan lost their first wicket at just 5 runs, with Gurbaz considered one of their key batsmen.

Ibrahim Zadran was run out next, having scored 11 runs off 10 balls. After 4 overs, Afghanistan were 38 for 2. Bumrah then took a catch off Arshdeep Singh's bowling to dismiss Sediqullah Atal, who had scored 13 runs off 13 balls. After 5 overs, Afghanistan had slipped to 39 for 3.

Afghanistan lost their fourth wicket soon after in the first T20I. Axar Patel dismissed Gulbadin Naib, who scored 2 runs, taking the score to 42 for 4. In the seventh over, Afghanistan lost their fifth wicket as Varun Chakravarthy bowled Darwish Rasooli, who could manage only two runs.

Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai then tried to steady the innings, building a partnership to take the team's score forward. Batting cautiously, the pair tried to accumulate as many runs as possible, but Arshdeep Singh bowled Nabi to end his innings. During this partnership, Afghanistan crossed the 100-run mark thanks to Nabi and Omarzai's batting. After Nabi's dismissal, Omarzai's scoring rate also slowed somewhat, though he completed his half-century. Rashid Khan, who came in next, faced 10 balls but could score only 1 run before being dismissed off Arshdeep's bowling. Arshdeep Singh finished with figures of 3 wickets for just 19 runs. The last over was bowled by Shreyas Iyer to Shivam Dube, which proved costly, with Omarzai scoring 21 runs off that one over.

India: Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.

Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.