All-round India claim ninth successive T20I win against Afghanistan: Stats
What's the story
India claimed a comprehensive win over Afghanistan in the 1st T20I at Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi. The Men in Blue made a mockery of a 157-run chase, with Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan hammering the Afghanistan bowlers. Azmatullah Omarzai earlier led Afghanistan's recovery after they were down to 43/5. Arshdeep Singh took three wickets. India won their ninth successive T20I against Afghanistan.
Start
Afghanistan falter in Powerplay
Afghanistan, asked to bat, lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the second ball. Jasprit Bumrah, playing his first T20I since this year's ICC T20 World Cup final, struck straightaway.
Although Sediqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran steadied the ship, the latter was run out.
Losing successive wickets, with Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel also doing the damage, Afghanistan were down to 43/5 in 7 overs.
Finish
Omarzai steps up
Omarzai stepped up and led Afghanistan's recovery alongside Mohammad Nabi. The duo added 83 runs off 56 balls, taking Afghanistan past 120.
While Arshdeep broke the partnership, dismissing Nabi (33 off 27 balls), Omarzai continued to attack.
The final over bowled by Shivam Dube produced 21 runs. And Omarzai returned unbeaten on 64 (44), including 4 fours and 4 sixes.
Bowling
Arshdeep races to 138 wickets
Arshdeep, who also removed Sediqullah Atal and Rashid Khan, was the pick of India's bowlers. His final figures read 4-0-19-3.
With his latest exploits, the left-arm seamer now has 138 wickets from 92 T20Is at an average of 19.81. His tally includes an economy rate of 8.51.
Arshdeep has 2 four-wicket hauls and a fifer to his name.
Information
Forgettable record for Gurbaz
Earlier, Gurbaz managed a two-ball duck. As per Cricinfo, he is the 21st batter in the format to record 30-plus ducks. He also joined Jos Buttler, Colin Munro, Chris Gayle, and Thisara Perera in terms of ducks (30).
Chase
How the chase panned out
Abhishek stepped on the gas in the first over, taking Fazalhaq Farooqi to the cleaners.
Although Sanju Samson departed after a positive start, Abhishek was unstoppable. Along with Kishan, he took India to 82/1 in six overs.
Abhishek reached his half-century off 22 balls and made the chase one-sided. The 11th over saw Mohammad Nabi end his 32-ball 82 (7 fours and 7 sixes).
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Record partnership
Abhishek and Kishan added 121 off just 53 balls. The partnership's run-rate was 13.70, the highest ever in a 100-plus partnership against Afghanistan in T20Is, according to Cricbuzz.
Milestone
Second-fastest to 6,000 T20 runs
Abhishek took 207 T20s (203 innings) to complete 6,000 T20 runs. The left-hander now has 6,007 runs at an average of 32.67.
He is now the second-fastest to reach 6,000 T20 runs by balls. Abhishek (3,420 balls) is only behind Finn Allen (3,386).
Across 57 T20Is, Abhishek has scored 1,711 runs at an average of 31.68. He already has two tons and 12 half-centuries.
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India reach finish line with 14 overs
Abhishek's departure didn't matter much as India were home in 13.4 overs. Kishan slammed 42 off 33 balls (5 fours and 1 six) before falling to Mohammad Nabi. Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma then got India home.
Record
India 9-0 against Afghanistan
Afghanistan's wait continues as they are yet to beat India in an international game, as per Cricinfo.
In T20Is, India have won each of their nine concluded affairs against the Afghan side. One of their victories came in an historic double Super Over in 2024.
Notably, India whitewashed Afghanistan 3-0 in an ODI series earlier this year.