New Delhi: The Indian cricketers made a winning start to their T20 series against Afghanistan, beating the visitors by seven wickets with 38 balls to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here. The victory came after the historic playing of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ as part of the opening ceremony, which concluded with the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’. Chasing a modest target of 157, India reached 3/157 in just 13.4 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
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Arshdeep Singh was the standout performer with the ball, returning impressive figures of 4-0-19-3, while opener Abhishek Sharma produced a spectacular batting display, smashing 82 off just 32 balls with seven sixes and seven fours. Abhishek and Ishan Kishan put the chase firmly on course with a match-winning 121-run partnership for the second wicket, which came off only 53 balls.
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After Afghanistan set India a target of 157, India lost Sanju Samson for 10 early in the chase. Samson was preferred over Vaibhav Suryavanshi but was caught on the eighth ball he faced. Following their long and explosive partnership, both Abhishek and Ishan lost their wickets in quick succession. Captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored eight, and vice-captain Tilak Varma, who made three, then guided Team India home.
Earlier, India won the toss and opted to field. Jasprit Bumrah returned to action after almost two months and made an immediate impact, dismissing Afghanistan’s dependable opener and wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz off only the second ball of the series, with Abhishek Sharma taking the catch at first slip.
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Afghanistan’s 8/156 was built largely around Azmatullah Omarzai’s unbeaten 64 off 44 balls, including four sixes and four fours. He shared a valuable 77-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, who contributed 33 runs.
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Apart from Arshdeep’s three wickets, Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy picked up one wicket each. Nitish Reddy, Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma went wicketless.
Also Read – India’s Cricket Match Sees ‘Vande Mataram’ Played for the First Time, Followed by ‘Jana Gana Mana’
