Delhi didn't get much of a contest on Sunday night. India, back to something close to full strength after months of injury headaches, took just 13.4 overs to knock off Afghanistan's total and win the series opener by seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Funny thing about this fixture. It was Afghanistan's first "home" T20I against India, except it was played entirely in Delhi. Make of that what you will. Either way, the hosts made sure the home comforts stayed one-sided.
Jasprit Bumrah opened the bowling in his first game back from injury, and it took him precisely two balls to make an impact. Rahmanullah Gurbaz edged one that nipped in off a length, straight to the slip cordon. Bumrah had already leaked five wides in that same over, so it wasn't exactly a tidy comeback, but nobody was complaining about the wicket.
From there Afghanistan kept bleeding partnerships. Varun Chakravarthy, also returning from injury, got one. Axar Patel got one. At one point Afghanistan were 43 for 5, and this was starting to look ugly for the visitors.
Enter Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi. The two dragged things back with a stand that turned an embarrassing total into a defendable-looking one, at least on paper. Omarzai finished unbeaten on 64 off 44, four fours, four sixes, and Nabi chipped in a useful 33 off 27. Arshdeep Singh kept a lid on it as best he could at the death, finishing with 3 for 19, but Shivam Dube got thrown the ball for the 20th over, his first of the innings, and Omarzai smashed 21 off it. Afghanistan closed on 156 for 8.
Good total for a rain-affected pitch somewhere. Not good enough for Delhi on a clear night with dew coming in.
Whatever rhythm Afghanistan had built with the ball, Abhishek Sharma dismantled it inside the powerplay. He'd gone six straight games without touching 20, which for a player of his profile counts as a slump, and he picked exactly the right night to snap out of it.
The first six came over cover, off Fazalhaq Farooqi. Then one landed near long-off, off Omarzai. Midwicket next, back to Farooqi. Square leg after that, this time off Rashid Khan, which is not a bowler most batters treat that casually. He went round the ground again after that long-on, cover, square leg and by the time anyone had caught their breath, he'd made 82 off 32 balls.
There's a stat worth sitting with here: against Rashid Khan specifically, Abhishek now has the best strike rate of any batter who's faced at least 30 balls from him in a match with full ball tracking. That's not a small sample size flex. That's a genuine pattern.
Ishan Kishan played the calmer half of the partnership, which given the circumstances meant he still scored 42 off 33 while occasionally looking like he was just there to keep Abhishek company. The pair put on 121 together before Kishan holed out trying to clear the rope again, caught by a diving Rashid Khan, who somehow ended the innings with two smart boundary catches and figures that told none of the story.
India got home in 13.4 overs. 157 for 3. Game, more or less, over by the time the dew started making the ball slippery for the bowlers who'd stopped needing it anyway.
Abhishek walked off with Player of the Match, and honestly, nobody in the press box was drafting an argument against it.
Shreyas Iyer, fronting up after the win, said the bowling group worked as one unit, and singled out Bumrah's early strike for setting the tempo. He also defended handing Dube the last over cold, calling it unfair on the bowler but unavoidable given how the match had unfolded, and said Dube would sort it out in time.
Three-match series, one game gone, and it already has the shape these things usually take when one side turns up undercooked. Afghanistan's top order will need answers before the next game losing your first five wickets for 43 isn't something a middle-order rescue act can paper over indefinitely. India will be happier about Bumrah and Chakravarthy coming through unscathed than anything that happened with the bat, with a packed few months ahead running into the Asia Cup.
Second T20I next. Afghanistan need a response, and fast.
India chased down 156 for 8 with seven wickets and 38 balls in hand, wrapping up the series opener in Delhi inside 14 overs. Bumrah struck in his first over back from injury, Arshdeep's 3 for 19 kept things tight at the death despite a late surge from Omarzai and Nabi, and Abhishek Sharma then blew the chase apart with 82 off 32 balls, adding 121 with Ishan Kishan. Abhishek took Player of the Match as India moved 1-0 up with two games left to play.
