HighLights
  1. Abhishek Sharma produced a brilliant 82 to lead India’s chase.
  2. Afghanistan posted 156/6, with Azmatullah Omarzai scoring an unbeaten 64.
  3. India reached 157/3 in just 13.4 overs to win by seven wickets.

Abhishek Sharma produced a sensational batting display as India began their T20I series against Afghanistan with a dominant seven-wicket victory in the first match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

The explosive opener smashed a brilliant 82 to take the game away from Afghanistan and help India chase down the target comfortably.

After Afghanistan were restricted to a competitive total of 156, India needed a strong start in the chase and Abhishek provided exactly that.

The left-handed player was on fire right from the start, attacking the opposition bowlers to make a rapid half-century. Abhishek's fireworks right from the powerplay helped India dominate the chase. Ishan was able to lend support from the other end as the two batters took on the Afghanistan bowling.

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While India managed to get 82/1 in the first 6 overs of the innings, it was thanks to the quick start given by Abhishek and Ishan, with Sanju Samson being the only man to get out.

Despite losing both Ishan and Abhishek later in the game, the damage done was too much for the opposition. The middle-order batsmen helped India successfully chase down the target in the 14th over without any extra fuss.

Bumrah Gives India Perfect Start

Afghanistan had difficulty gathering any momentum after they were asked to bat first. Under the seam bowling of Jasprit Bumrah, India got the perfect start, dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the very first over. The early wicket put Afghanistan under immediate pressure and, were it not for the batting of Azmatullah Omarzai, they would have been totally derailed.

After losing five wickets for 43 runs in just over seven overs, one had no hope of Afghanistan putting up a successful total.

Arshdeep Singh Stops Afghanistan's Fightback

Omarzai's counterattack had given Afghanistan hope of posting a challenging total, but India's bowlers managed to regain control towards the end of the innings.

Arshdeep Singh bowled well in the final over of the game and did not allow Afghanistan to score too many runs in the final overs. The pacer's wickets at the right time and disciplined bowling made sure that India did not have a big target to chase after all.

Afghanistan fell down early in the innings, but the recovery of Omarzai and Nabi gave some runs to defend. However, the total proved to be too little in front of India's powerful batting line-up.

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Abhishek Sharma was the star for India during the chase. The opener started aggressively and scored boundaries right from the start, which made sure that Afghanistan did not settle in. His aggressive batting turned the game around for India and helped India gain momentum during the powerplay.

Ishan Kishan played a perfect role in support before finally getting out, while Abhishek continued to attack and scored 82 runs, moving towards victory.

Tilak Varma then stayed till the end to finish the job. A little loose ball from Rashid Khan was hit to backward point, and an overthrow allowed India to make the second run, which sealed a comfortable victory.


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