India opened the three-match series with a decisive seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Abhishek Sharma spearheaded the chase with an aggressive 82 off just 32 deliveries, an innings highlighted by seven fours and seven sixes. His performance allowed the hosts to overhaul the target of 157 in only 13.4 overs.
Sent in to bat, Afghanistan endured a nightmare start, collapsing to 43 for 5 before the end of the Powerplay. Jasprit Bumrah initiated the collapse by removing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over. Following the early exits of Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, and Gulbadin Naib, Varun Chakaravarthy further tightened the screws by bowling Darwish Rasooli. At the halfway point, Afghanistan were struggling at 56 for 5, but the innings found momentum through a partnership between Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi.
Omarzai proved to be the standout performer for the visitors, anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 64 off 44 balls. Together with Nabi, who contributed 33 off 27, he helped rebuild the total. The pair took advantage of some expensive overs from the Indian attack, including a 17-run over from Nitish Reddy, to push Afghanistan past the 100-run mark by the 15th over. Despite the late flourish—which included Omarzai smashing Shivam Dube for two consecutive sixes in the final over and Mujeeb ur Rahman adding two late fours to reach 156 for 8—the total proved insufficient.
India’s response was electric from the start. Although Sanju Samson fell early to Omarzai, Abhishek and Ishan Kishan took the game away from the visitors immediately. The duo accumulated 121 runs in a rapid partnership, punishing the Afghanistan bowling attack. In the fifth over alone, the pair took 26 runs off Fazalhaq Farooq Farooqi. Abhishek, who reached his fifty in 22 balls, even surpassed a personal milestone during his knock, becoming the second-fastest player to accumulate 6,000 T20 runs, achieving the feat in 3,420 balls.
Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad were unable to stifle the flow of runs, with Abhishek striking two sixes in an over off Noor to propel India to 130 for 1 by the 10th over. His rampage finally ended when he mishit a full toss from Mohammad Nabi, leading to a catch by Rashid Khan at deep midwicket. Soon after, Kishan fell for 42 off 33 balls, also off Nabi. Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma safely navigated the final stages to secure the win. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the Indian bowlers, finishing with figures of 3 for 19. The report also notes that which included 7 fours and as many sixes, powered India to a comfortable eight-wicket win in the first T20I against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, a blazing 32-ball 82 from Abhishek Sharma. The report also notes that afghanistan lost half their side even before they reached fifty but Azmatullah Omarzai’s fine 64 not out off 44 helped them finish with 156 for 8 after being asked to bat. The report also notes that abhishek, meanwhile, dealt in regular sixes and fours as he became the second fastest to 6000 T20 runs (in 3420 balls). The report also notes that with both the left handers scoring a six and a four apiece off Fazalhaq Farooqi in the fifth over which yielded 26 runs, kishan began positively too.
