India thrash Afghanistan in 13.4 overs as Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan blaze away

The first T20 international between India and Afghanistan at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium belonged entirely to the Indian batters. Batting first, Afghanistan could manage only 156 runs in 20 overs. Afghanistan made a poor start, losing half their batters for 43 runs in just seven overs. But an 83-run sixth-wicket partnership between Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi took the total past 150. Azmatullah Omarzai anchored the innings with an unbeaten 64.

Chasing 156 in reply, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan batted brilliantly for India and took the team comfortably to victory. India won the match by seven wickets. India had already scored 82 runs in the powerplay, which meant the team sealed the match in just 13.4 overs.

Captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first. It was also clear at the toss that Vaibhav Suryavanshi had not made the playing eleven. Leaving out Vaibhav Suryavanshi, captain Shreyas Iyer picked Sanju Samson to bat. But Sanju Samson was out for just 10 runs, disappointing fans once again.

After Sanju Samson's dismissal, Abhishek Sharma took control of the match from the start and gave the Afghanistan bowlers no room. After Samson departed, Ishan Kishan came in to bat and, like Abhishek, also batted aggressively. Both left-handed batters entertained the fans with their attacking approach. Abhishek Sharma hit a flurry of fours and sixes, smashing 82 runs off just 32 balls. In one over alone, he scored 26 runs. Ishan Kishan was later out for 42, when Rashid Khan took a stunning one-handed catch that won everyone over. It was an extremely difficult catch.

In the bowling, Arshdeep Singh took three wickets for India. Jasprit Bumrah returned to the side and also struck in the very first over, giving India a strong start. Varun Chakravarthy also bowled well.