India cruise past Afghanistan as Sharma blitz earns series lead

Sept 13 - India claimed a dominant seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the first Twenty20 international in New Delhi on Sunday, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after chasing down a victory target of 157 with 38 balls to spare.

After Sanju Samson fell in the third over, Abhishek Sharma launched a blistering counterattack, smashing 82 off 32 balls, while Ishan Kishan contributed 42 as the pair put India firmly in control of the chase.

Sharma's aggressive strokeplay ensured Afghanistan never threatened the target, with India cruising towards victory before Mohammad Nabi struck twice late in the innings to remove both Sharma and Kishan.

Captain Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma then guided their side over the line, with Iyer finishing unbeaten on eight from five deliveries.

Afghanistan had earlier made a poor start after being put in to bat, with Jasprit Bumrah, returning to the side after a knee injury, striking in the opening over to dismiss Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck.

They slipped to 41-4 inside the powerplay, with captain Ibrahim Zadran (11) and Sediqullah Atal (13) among the early casualties.

A steady stream of wickets kept Afghanistan under pressure throughout the innings, but Azmatullah Omarzai provided some resistance with a counter-attacking 64 off 44 balls.

The all-rounder shared a crucial 83-run partnership with Mohammad Nabi (33) to revive the innings before Nabi fell to Arshdeep Singh, who applied the brakes in the death overs and finished with figures of 3-19.