India continued their winning run in T20 cricket by defeating Afghanistan by 7 wickets in the second T20 International at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The win took India to a 2-0 lead in the series with one match left.
The hosts were able to win in 14.5 overs and lose just 3 wickets. It is also the first T20I series victory of Shreyas Iyer as the Captain of India. With the series already completed, India will now try to complete a clean sweep in the final match on 17 September.
With Shreyas Iyer putting Afghanistan on the field, it was hard to get them going early. Arshdeep Singh took the first ball in the second over and hit the dangerous opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck, and made a perfect start for India. Afghan skipper Ibrahim Zadran was taking on India in a fast-paced and spin attack with some aggressive strokes.
Zadran made 37 runs and looked like he was going to score a bigger innings before Nitish Kumar Reddy came to the fore. Nitish Kumar Reddy came out for the attack and took Zadran out on his first delivery, changing the momentum of the match and bringing India back into the game.
India’s bowlers continued to attack and put pressure on Afghanistan as they were unable to build any meaningful partnerships. Ravi Bishnoi removed Sediqullah Atal, and Nitish Reddy once more got Gulbadin Naib. Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel took wickets while Darwish Rasooli and Azmatullah Omarzai failed to make big contributions.
Series victory sealed 🔒
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 15, 2026
Superb from start to finish as #TeamIndia make it 2️⃣-0️⃣ in the Friendship Cup 🇮🇳👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/96e4nhbYLf#AFGvIND pic.twitter.com/zvWVii5nBC
Rashid Khan had some bright moments late in the game with a 28-run score that helped Afghanistan reach 159. Nitish Reddy was India’s best bowler with 3 wickets for 24 runs. Arshdeep picked up two wickets while Jasprit Bumrah, Ravi Bishnoi, and Axar Patel took one wicket each.
With 160 to chase, India’s opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma took on the Afghan bowling attack and added 88 runs for the first wicket in just 6.2 overs and took the match beyond Afghanistan. Abhishek continued his assault on the ball and managed 39 runs from 19 balls with two boundaries and four sixes. Sanju Samson, however, was the star with another fantastic half-century. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 57 runs from 22 deliveries with seven fours and four sixes. Not only did he take full control of the chase and lead India to victory, but he also showed his team’s response to criticism from those who questioned his consistency in recent games.
There were no late hiccups with Ishan Kishan in the middle of the chase after the opening batsmen left the team. The left-handed batsman continued to stay unbeaten with 38 runs and also led the innings with Tilak Varma, who scored 15 runs. The partnership took India to the target with more than five overs to spare and showed the depth and confidence in the batting line-up. With a commanding seven-wicket victory and a 2-0 series lead, Team India has once again demonstrated its dominance at home. Now the focus is on the final T20I, and the Men in Blue will aim to complete a series whitewash and build momentum for future international tours.
