India’s Sanju Samson celebrates after his half-century against Afghanistan during the 2nd T20 Series of the cricket match between India and Afghanistan, at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on September 15, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Business as usual. That is how India’s T20I series win over Afghanistan has seemed, having barely dropped a bead of sweat whilst registering consecutive seven-wicket wins at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital. The tour of the United Kingdom in June-July, where India went without a victory in six completed T20Is against Ireland and England, may have thrown a spanner in the works in Shreyas Iyer’s first assignment as captain. But back in familiar territory, albeit Afghanistan is the official host for the ongoing series, India has reiterated its near-impregnability.
Numbers bear testimony. Since July 2024, the Men in Blue have won 23 out of 27 T20Is in India. This splendid run includes the T20 World Cup in February and March, which they lifted for the second time in succession. They have prevailed in every bilateral assignment in India in this phase.
If the possibility of Afghanistan causing an upset was faint before the series, the last vestiges of hope vanished into thin air once India won the toss and opted to chase under lights in both fixtures.
Considering the ease with which Shreyas & Co. have knocked off targets of 157 and 160, Afghanistan’s spin department, known to be its strong suit, has had to face some of the heat. But the Rashid Khan-led attack hasn’t been aided one bit by the below-par returns of the batters.
“The par total on that wicket would be about 200. That would have given us something realistic to bowl at. We didn’t set a target that could have been defended,” Afghanistan coach Richard Pybus rued after the loss in the second T20I on Tuesday (September 15, 2026).
If Ibrahim Zadran’s men are to salvage a win in Thursday’s (September 17) dead rubber, one among the top four will have to bat deep. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who has been dismissed on nought both times, will hope to be that batter.
“Gurbaz is usually our most explosive player in the top-order. I know he’s really disappointed. He loves the big occasions. I’m sure he’ll have something special for us in the third game,” said Pybus.
From India’s perspective, it couldn’t have asked for a better tune-up to the Asian Games in Japan. All its parts are in order, with Sanju Samson’s half-century and Nitish Kumar’s three-wicket haul in the second T20I arousing further confidence within the camp. Before the players board the flight to eastern Asia to defend their gold medal, rest assured that a series whitewash will be on their radar.
The teams (from): Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (Capt.), Darwish Rasooli, Noor ul Rahman (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Nangeyalia Kharote, Rashid Khan, Abdollah Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad.
India: Shreyas Iyer (Capt.), Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur.
Match starts at 7.30 p.m.
Published – September 16, 2026 10:52 pm IST
