The status of host has been accorded to Afghanistan for these three T20Is.

It is perhaps a trivial detail, for the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday (September 13, 2026) swerved to India’s beats as the Men in Blue sauntered to a seven-wicket win in the opener.

Barring a small section of Afghan fans, the 25,165-strong crowd roared as and when Abhishek Sharma (82, 32b, 7x4, 7x6) and Ishan Kishan sparkled on their way to a successful chase of 157 in 13.4 overs.

The two southpaws forged a 121-run partnership for the second wicket.

AFG vs IND first T20I | Ahead of Asian Games, full-strength India aims to flex muscle Abhishek was in delightful touch from the get-go.

From inside-out drives to power-packed pulls, many of his signature shots bore fruit.

Kishan wasn’t as gung-ho, but still made a 33-ball 42 (5x4, 1x6).

They came together once Sanju Samson, back in the XI in place of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, mistimed a pull off Azmatullah Omarzai to Darwish Rasooli at deep square-leg.

A contribution of 10 will do little to bolster Samson’s spirits, a minor blemish in an otherwise dominant display by Shreyas Iyer & Co.

India’s frontline bowlers also came good.

While Arshdeep Singh took three wickets, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy scalped one each.

The lone bright spot for the Afghans was an 83-run sixth-wicket stand between Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi.

The former finished unbeaten on 64 (44b, 4x4, 4x6).

Having won the toss on a balmy evening, India set the tone through Bumrah.

Returning from an injury layoff, the spearhead quickly made his mark.

Though he started with a wide down the leg side that raced to the ropes, he struck off his second legitimate delivery.

A back-of-a-length ball cramped Rahmanullah Gurbaz as the opener steered it to Abhishek at slip.

Afghanistan was reduced to 43 for five in seven overs, much of its misery self-inflicted.

In the fourth over, Ibrahim Zadran flicked Axar towards midwicket and charged for a second run when Sediqullah Atal sent the skipper back halfway through.

It was too late for Zadran to reach the safety of the crease, with Axar collecting a pinpoint throw from Kishan to dislodge the bails.

Afghanistan’s situation portended a capitulation, but Omarzai and Nabi didn’t give in.

Omarzai’s cover drive off Bumrah for a four stood out for its majesty.

Naib was a suitable ally, ensuring that the partnership swelled steadily.

A forehand slap off Arshdeep, which soared over long-on for a maximum, was the pick of Nabi’s strokes.

It was a source of mere solace at the close.