India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets to seal T20 series

Sanju Samson provided the centerpiece of India’s chase, producing a blistering 57 from 22 deliveries as India completed a seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan to clinch the three-match T20 series with a game to spare. Samson’s knock, which included four sixes and seven fours, was his first T20 fifty since this year’s World Cup final, where he had been named player of the tournament. Samson opened with Abhishek Sharma, who contributed 39 off 19 balls including four sixes, and the pair put together a punishing 88-run opening stand off just 38 balls. India raced through the powerplay to 82-0, and despite Rashid Khan breaking the partnership in the seventh over, India reached 100 in 7.1 overs — their joint second-quickest 100 since 2024 — before easing to 163-3 in 14.5 overs. Ishan Kishan (38 not out) and Tilak Varma (15 not out) saw the chase home after Shreyas Iyer’s dismissal. Afghanistan had set a modest target after being asked to bat. Nitish Reddy was the most successful bowler for India’s opponents, finishing with 3-24 in three overs as Afghanistan were limited to 159-8. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for a duck, and skipper Ibrahim Zadran top-scored with 37 off 33 balls. Afghanistan’s innings threatened a recovery late in the innings with a 48-run partnership off 28 balls between Rashid Khan (28 off 16) and Mohammad Nabi (20 off 14), but the hosts had earlier slid from 59-2 to 100-6 in the middle overs as Reddy removed key batters. In India’s reply, Rashid Khan claimed three wickets, but Samson and Sharma had already set the chase on a decisive course.