Afghanistan vs India, 3rd T20I Match Summary

Over and out from the capital - And with that, the curtains come down on a one-sided three-match T20I series, as the Men in Blue complete a dominant 3-0 sweep. Afghanistan, on the other hand, have a lot of soul-searching to do. India now turn their attention to the next white-ball assignment, which promises to mark another historic beginning. They will travel to the Land of the Rising Sun for a one-off T20I against Japan, opening a brand-new chapter in the growing cricketing landscape on Tuesday, September 22. Afghanistan will also head to Japan for the Asian Games, where they will begin their group stage campaign against Japan on Thursday, September 24. India have earned a direct qualification to the quarter-finals there. But for now, you can switch tabs to follow all the updates from the second T20I between England and Sri Lanka from Cardiff. Cheers.

Friendship Cup, living up to its name - Shreyas Iyer receives the trophy from DDCA president Rohan Jaitley, with Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran joining him for the presentation. The pair then carry it towards the WINNERS board, where the Indian players are eagerly waiting for their winning photographs. And what a heartwarming moment this is! The Indian players invite Ibrahim to join their celebrations, turning a team photograph into a beautiful display of camaraderie and friendship. This has been a historic series in many ways, with Afghanistan serving as the hosts on Indian soil. Ibrahim now steps away as the Indian support staff comes in to pose for the photographs.

The victorious Indian captain - Shreyas Iyer says he would not describe India's approach as bullying, pointing out that Afghanistan had come to India to host the series. He adds that India knew they would be batting first and did well to put up a challenging total. Reckons it was not an easy wicket, but the way Abhishek played, it was pleasing to the eye. On Axar Patel's contribution in the Powerplay, Iyer says Axar had done it in the past and had continued to perform consistently in that phase over the years.

The captain of Afghanistan - Ibrahim Zadran reflects on this defeat. He admits that it was really disappointing. Quickly adds that he was pleased to see the intent in the Powerplay. Tonight's problem, in his view, came down to losing wickets in clusters. He admits the team has been thinking hard about how to carry that intent through an entire innings rather than just the start. He admits that there have been a series or two of struggles along the way, but backs the process to pay off with time, stressing that without intent, competing with the top international sides simply isn't possible. On getting more opportunities to play against stronger teams, Zadran notes that this was Afghanistan's first T20I series since the World Cup after a long gap. He says the team needs to play more matches and series, particularly against the top-ranked sides, to improve their level. Says while Afghanistan do play against teams such as Zimbabwe and Ireland, he believes regular contests against the biggest teams would help them progress further. Speaking about Axar Patel's ability to bowl in the Powerplay, Zadran says the Indian all-rounder has done it successfully in the past and continued to deliver in critical situations. He adds that Axar thinks deeply about his game and knows when the team needs him to step up.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH AND SERIES - ABHISHEK SHARMA takes home both awards for his consistent batting display. He scored a blazing 108 off just 34 balls ​​​​​​tonight. Overall, he scored 229 runs in the series at an insane strike rate of 269.41. Abhishek Sharma says the team had been following an aggressive approach for the last two years and that one or two poor series would not define them as a batting unit. He adds that the focus had always been on dominating throughout the year ahead of the World Cup, regardless of the opposition. Abhishek acknowledges that performances can go up and down for a cricketer, but says the team's momentum, mindset and ability to stay united and focus on the next game had been crucial to their approach. On producing hundreds despite his high-risk style, Abhishek says it had all come down to trusting the process and being clear about which bowlers he wanted to take on. He adds that playing in such a manner required the backing of the coach and captain, and feels that support had allowed the team to follow this approach for the last few years. Abhishek says he did not want to restrict any particular area of the ground and instead wanted to express himself by watching the ball and hitting it. He underlines that success could not be guaranteed every time, but says India had built a culture around maximising the Powerplay and continuing to play with the same intent.

... The post-match Presentation ...

Abhishek blitz, then a blank - India blasted off to 184/3 in 15 overs, built almost entirely on carnage from Abhishek Sharma, who tore into the Afghan attack for a 30-ball century, the fastest in the format's history by a batter from a Test-playing nation. Sanju Samson chipped in nicely too with a fifty of his own, but once both fell, the innings lost all its rhythm, with Iyer and the others unable to find any real timing. Afghanistan did manage to claw their way back through the last five overs, defending superbly to restrict India to 221. They were near flawless in the field to boot, pulling off three run-outs along the way. Rashid Khan had a hand in almost every wicket, whether with the ball or in the field, while Abdollah Ahmadzai enjoyed a decent debut to remember.

Sizzling bowling display - Indeed it was, and Shreyas Iyer's captaincy deserves its share of credit too. With the pace pair of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Yash Thakur going for a bit in their opening spells, Iyer wasted no time turning to spin in the Powerplay. And Axar Patel repaid the faith instantly, striking twice in his very first over. From there, it was a complete unraveling of Afghanistan's batting spine. Bumrah delivered his special yorker, which consumed Rasooli, while Bishnoi switched it up further with a three-wicket haul of his own. But the real wrecker-in-chief turned out to be Nitish Kumar Reddy, who returned to strike thrice in a single over and killed the game off then and there.

A recurring problem - It was a bright start for Afghanistan in the chase, but the same script from the first two games played out once more. A promising opening undone by a total collapse. 31 without loss unraveled into 94 all out, and barring Ibrahim Zadran, not a single batter got past 20, with three others stalling in the teens, never quite comfortable enough to turn starts into something meaningful. This is turning out to be a worrying trend for them in the shortest format, as this time, they couldn't even cross triple figures. A serious issue that they need to address as quickly as possible before their upcoming assignments.

At the peak of their powers - The T20 World Champions hand Afghanistan a crushing defeat, sealing a 3-0 series sweep in the process. Yet another comfortably one-sided finish for the Men in Blue. It was their away series at home, with Afghanistan hosting it in the Indian capital, but on Indian soil, they have been an absolutely dominant force, not losing any T20I series since February 2019. Plenty of question marks now hang over Afghanistan. They were comprehensively outplayed with the bat, with their batting vulnerabilities surfacing again and again throughout the course of this three-match series. The wait for a first T20I win over India goes on, for the time being at least.

OUT! IN THE AIR...GONE! Ravi Bishnoi wraps things up here with a three-fer. INDIA WIN BY 127 RUNS AND TAKE THE SERIES 3-0! This is tossed up, full and around middle. Abdollah Ahmadzai tries to slog it over mid-wicket but gets no timing at all. It goes high in the air towards deep mid-wicket, where Axar Patel circles under the high ball and pouches it safely. All smiles in the Indian camp, while a bit of a reality check for Afghanistan.

An exceptional bowling spell from Nitish. Started off by conceding 15 runs off his first over, and then roared back by picking up three wickets. 3/25 in 4 overs for him tonight.

Another fine yorker, on off, Fazalhaq Farooqi keeps it out to the off side.

Right in the blockhole, on middle, Abdollah Ahmadzai digs it out off the inner half of the bat through square leg for a run.

Swing and a miss! A slower one, full and on leg, Abdollah Ahmadzai goes through the slog across the line early and misses. Sanju Samson fails to collect it cleanly but it does not cost anything.

FOUR! Connects well this time! Fuller delivery, on off, Abdollah Ahmadzai stays deep inside the crease and pumps it down the ground to the right of long off for a boundary.

A low full toss, on off, Abdollah Ahmadzai jams it out towards long off and once again does not take the run.

Hard length and around off, Abdollah Ahmadzai swats it off the bottom half of the bat towards long on. Surprisingly, he denies the single.

Nearly another one! Wrong'un, full and on off, turns in a bit. Fazalhaq Farooqi has a big slog across the line but misses as the ball misses the off pole by a whisker.

Fazalhaq Farooqi is the last man in.

OUT! OUTFOXED! Wicket number two for Bishnoi as Rashid falls. Pushed through, drifting in full and around off. Rashid gets low, opens his stance, and goes for a full-blooded slog sweep, but reads the turn wrong. He anticipates it to be a googly but it is a leg break that spins away from him. His bat comes down at an angle, letting the ball sneak underneath and crash into middle stump. Afghanistan are 89/9, staring at an enormous defeat.

A slip in place now. Googly at 91 kph, full and around off, Abdollah Ahmadzai goes deep inside the crease and taps it wide of backward point for a single.

An in-drifter, on a good length, Khan is rushed n the back foot and cuts it to deep point for a single.

WIDE! Miles outside off, on a length. Let through by Rashid.

FOUR! Gets it through. A bit of a misfield there. Quicker and shorter, outside off, Khan cuts it off the back foot and Nitish is a touch late to dive to his right at backward point. The ball seeps through for a boundary.

Full, flat, outside off, Khan drills it down to long off and denies the run.

Gets the yorker in, on middle, Abdollah manages to somehow drop the bat down and squeeze it out on the pitch. What an over from Nitish. Three wickets and just a run from it.

India can see the finish line now. Abdollah Ahmadzai comes out to the middle.

OUT! KNOCKED HIM OVER! A triple whammy for Reddy. He is absolutely delighted and why not! A pinpoint yorker, at the base of the middle and leg stumps. Mujeeb Ur Rahman tries to jam the bat down and shovel it out, but in the process, his bat gets stuck on his back pad and the ball crashes into the stumps behind. Mujeeb cannot believe it and trudges off. Afghanistan slip further down to 82/8. India need just 2 wickets to win.

Fuller and on the pads, Mujeeb closes the bat face early to flick and gets a leading edge to backward point.