Team India completed a clean sweep over Afghanistan after winning the third and final T20I in Delhi by 127 runs on Thursday.
The victory gave India a 3-0 series win and continued Afghanistan’s wait for their first-ever win over India in T20Is. The Afghan side has still not managed to beat India since the two teams first met in 2010.
Abhishek Sharma was the star of the show at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, smashing a stunning century in just 30 balls. His breathtaking knock helped India post 221/7 after being asked to bat first.
Afghanistan never looked comfortable in the chase and were eventually bowled out for just 94 runs.
Abhishek Sharma Creates History
Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran won the toss and opted to bowl first, but the decision did not work out as planned.
Abhishek came out attacking from the start and made full use of the good batting conditions in Delhi. The left-hander raced to his fifty in only 16 balls before taking just 14 more deliveries to reach his century.
His 30-ball hundred made him the fastest batter from an ICC Full Member nation to score a T20I century. He went past the previous record of 33 balls, held by New Zealand’s Finn Allen and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza.
Abhishek eventually fell for 108 off 34 balls. His innings included nine fours and 11 sixes, while his partnership with Sanju Samson produced 142 runs for the opening wicket.
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Sanju Samson Adds Fifty
Sanju Samson also made an important contribution at the top of the order. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 50 from 35 balls before losing his wicket.
The two openers provided India with the perfect platform, and the lower order added enough runs to take the total beyond the 220-run mark.
India finished their 20 overs on 221/7, leaving Afghanistan with a huge target of 222.
Afghanistan Collapse In The Chase
Afghanistan needed a strong start but instead found themselves in trouble almost immediately.
Four wickets were down by the time the score reached 47, with two of those dismissals coming from Axar Patel. Yash Thakur and Jasprit Bumrah also picked up a wicket each during the early stages of the innings.
With half their side already back in the dressing room inside the powerplay, Afghanistan struggled to find a way back into the game.
The collapse continued after the powerplay, and Afghanistan were eventually bowled out for 94.
Bishnoi And Nitish Lead India’s Attack
Ravi Bishnoi and Nitish Kumar Reddy were India’s most successful bowlers on the night, taking three wickets each.
India eventually sealed a comfortable 127-run victory to finish the series with a 3-0 scoreline.
The result also gave Shreyas Iyer a winning start as captain in India’s first home T20I series against Afghanistan, while Abhishek’s record-breaking hundred provided the biggest highlight of the series finale.
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