Dominant India thrash Afghanistan in 2nd T20I; seal series
What's the story
Team India put up yet another dominant show to beat Afghanistan in the second T20I in New Delhi. The Men in Blue restricted the Afghan team to 159/8 before chasing down the target with seven wickets and 31 balls to spare. While Nitish Kumar Reddy claimed a three-wicket haul, Sanju Samson hammered a vital half-century. Having also clinched the series opener, India are now 2-0 up in the three-match affair.
Afghan team
Afghanistan post a paltry score
Rahmanullah Gurbaz bagged his second successive duck as the hosts were off to a terrible start.
Though Ibrahim Zadran scored a fine 37, he continued to lose partners from the other end.
A vital 48-run stand between Mohammad Nabi (20) and Rashid Khan (28) took the Afghan team past 150.
Reddy's three-wicket haul dented the batting unit as Arshdeep Singh struck twice.
Chase
India cross the line in style
Speaking of the run chase, India were off to a flier.
Sanju Samson (58) and Abhishek Sharma (39) gave a blazing start in the power play, adding 88 runs off just 38 balls.
Though both Indian openers were dismissed by Rashid Khan in the same over, India continued to dominate as Ishan Kishan scored an unbeaten 38* while batting at three.
He returned unbeaten alongside Tilak Varma, who made 15*.
Bumrah
Bumrah sets new 'maiden' record in T20Is
Jasprit Bumrah had a brilliant start to the game, delivering a maiden over in an era where such events are rare due to the batting-friendly nature of T20Is.
The pacer now owns the most maiden overs among Full Member team bowlers (13).
He took one wicket while conceding just 26 runs in his four overs.
Bumrah has now raced to 123 T20I wickets at an average of 18.20.
Reddy
Best T20I figures for Reddy
Reddy took three important wickets for just 24 runs in his three overs.
This spell took him to 25 wickets across 56 T20 matches at an economy rate of around 10.
The pacer had just three wickets across five T20Is before this game. Reddy claimed his maiden three-fer in the format.
Arshdeep Singh (2/25 in 4 overs) also bowled a vital spell. This performance took him to 140 T20I wickets at 19.77.
Zadran
Key numbers for Zadran
Afghan skipper Zadran was the only one from his team to score over 30.
He made 37 off 33 balls with the help of six fours. This knock took him to 1,913 T20I runs at 32.98 (50s: 16).
Rashid played a fine cameo toward the end, scoring 28 off 16 balls (3 fours, 1 six).
Darwish Rasooli hit two sixes and a four in his 15-ball 26.
Samson
Fiery fifty for Samson
Samson, who has struggled for runs lately, scored a vital fifty.
He hammered seven fours and three sixes in his 22-ball 57.
This was his seventh fifty across 68 T20Is as he also owns three tons.
He has now completed 1,499 runs at an average of 27.25 and a strike rate of 158.12.
His previous two T20Is against the Afghan team resulted in just 10 runs combined.
Knocks
Key knocks from Abhishek, Kishan
Abhishek, who scored a match-winning 82 in the opener, played another fine knock (39 off 19).
He smashed four sixes and two fours. This knock took him to 1,750 T20I runs at an average of 31.81 and a strike rate of 190.01 (100s: 2, 50s: 12).
Kishan finished with an unbeaten 38 off 23 balls (3 fours, 2 sixes). The dasher now has 1,688 T20I runs at 30.69 (100: 1, 50s: 12, SR: 146.14).
Rashid
Three-fer for Rashid
Each of India's three fallen wickets went to Rashid's credit.
He finished with 3/36 from 3.5 overs. The highest wicket-taker in T20I history, Rashid has now raced to 196 wickets across 117 games at 13.87 (ER: 6.1).
Six of his wickets have come across five games against India.
With 739 wickets from 549 games at 18-plus, Rashid also happens to be the highest wicket-taker in overall T20 cricket.
Information
Unbeaten streak continues
India have now won each of their 10 concluded T20I affairs against the Afghan side. One of their victories came in an historic double Super Over in 2024. No other team has conceded as many successive T20I losses against the Men in Blue.