India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets to seal T20 series

What the report says

India secured their three-match T20 international series against Afghanistan with a seven-wicket victory in the second game, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead. The match was played on Tuesday in Afghanistan’s role as series host under a rare arrangement, with the first two games held at the same venue. Al Jazeera, citing AFP, reported that India also won the opening match by seven wickets.

Sanju Samson led India’s chase with 57 off 22 balls, striking seven fours and four sixes to reach his first half-century since the T20 World Cup final earlier this year. Opening batter Abhishek Sharma added 39 off 19 balls, and the pair put on 88 runs in 38 deliveries to put India in control early. India finished on 163-3 in 14.5 overs, with Ishan Kishan unbeaten on 38 and Tilak Varma not out on 15.

Earlier, Afghanistan posted 159-8 after being put in to bat. Nitish Reddy took 3-24 for India, while Arshdeep Singh and spin bowler Rashid Khan also featured among the wicket-takers. Afghanistan struggled through the middle overs after a quick start, although captain Ibrahim Zadran made 37 and Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi added late runs. The result underlined India’s strong batting form and Afghanistan’s difficulty in building a competitive total in the series.