Abhishek Sharma Dominates Afghanistan in T20I

The lights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium had barely settled when Abhishek Sharma turned a routine chase into a demolition job.

Eighty-two runs. Thirty-two balls. Seven fours. Seven sixes. A first T20I against Afghanistan that felt like a statement, not just an innings, as India hunted down 157 in only 13.4 overs to seal a seven-wicket win and a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Rashid Khan under siege

Plenty of batters have tried to dominate Rashid Khan in T20 cricket. Almost all of them have ended up respecting him. Abhishek did not join that club.

Across T20s where ball-by-ball data is available, 113 batters have faced at least 30 deliveries from Rashid. None has gone harder, or been more productive, than Abhishek Sharma. He now has 101 runs off 43 balls against the legspinner at a strike rate of 234.88 — the highest among that entire group.

Rashid has built a career on dictating terms. Here, Abhishek flipped the script. He met length balls with clean, fearless swings down the ground, picked up the shorter ones early, and refused to let Rashid settle into his usual rhythm. Every over against Afghanistan’s trump card felt like a mini-battle, and Abhishek kept landing the heavier blows.

The pressure finally spilled over into the rest of the attack.

A partnership that broke the game

India had an early wobble when Sanju Samson fell for 10, but that only cleared the stage. Abhishek found the ideal ally in Ishan Kishan, and together they ripped the contest away from Afghanistan.

The pair added 121 runs for the second wicket, and they did it in a blur — just 53 balls. That’s a scoring rate of 13.70 runs per over, the fastest 100-plus partnership ever recorded against Afghanistan in T20Is.

They went past the previous benchmark set in Bengaluru in 2024, when Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh plundered 190* off 93 balls at 12.25 runs per over. This time the tempo was even more brutal. Ishan’s 42 off 33 might look almost sedate next to Abhishek’s fireworks, but his intent from the other end meant Afghanistan never had a quiet over to cling to.

Every time the visitors tried to drag the game back, one of the two left-handers found the boundary. The field spread, the bowlers searched for answers, and the asking rate simply evaporated.

Chase wrapped up in a hurry

By the end of the powerplay, India were already cruising at 82 for 1, with Abhishek and Ishan in full flow. The target of 157, which might have tested a side on a trickier surface or a more tentative day, looked undersized long before the halfway mark.

Both set batters eventually departed, but by then the damage was beyond repair. The chase had been reduced to a formality. Shreyas Iyer stayed unbeaten on 8, Tilak Varma on 3, as India strolled past the finish line with 38 balls to spare.

It was not just a win. It was a dismantling.

Series tilts India’s way

The result hands India a 1-0 advantage, and with it, control of the series. Afghanistan return to the same venue on Tuesday knowing they must find a way to contain a batting unit that just treated 157 like a warm-up drill.

For India, the equation is simpler. Another performance with this kind of intent, and they won’t just take an unassailable lead — they’ll deepen the sense that a new wave of hitters, led by Abhishek Sharma, is ready to redefine how they chase in T20 cricket.