India produced another dominant performance to defeat Afghanistan by seven wickets in the second T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Chasing 160, India reached the target with 31 balls to spare and won the match by 7 wickets to seal the series.
After winning the toss, India opted to bowl and restricted Afghanistan to 159/8 in 20 overs. Ibrahim Zadran top-scored with 37, while Darwish Rasooli added 26 and Rashid Khan contributed 28. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the pick of the Indian bowlers with three wickets, while Arshdeep Singh claimed two.
India made a flying start to the chase, with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson putting on 88 runs for the opening wicket. Samson was
particularly destructive, smashing 57 off just 22 balls, while Abhishek contributed 39. Their assault helped India race to 82/0 during the powerplay.
Rashid Khan briefly gave Afghanistan hope by dismissing both openers and Shreyas Iyer, but Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma completed the chase comfortably. Kishan remained unbeaten on 33 and struck the winning boundary off Rashid in the 15th over.
The result gave India their second consecutive seven-wicket victory in the series and another comprehensive triumph under captain Shreyas Iyer.
India vs Afghanistan Award Winners: Full List of Awards in IND vs AFG 2nd T20I
Have a look at the full award winners and prize money.
Kotak Mahindra Hausla Hai to Ho Jayega Award: Sanju Samson (IND) - Won Afghani 60,000
Valvoline Game Changer Award: Sanju Samson (IND) - Afghani 60,000
Player of the Match: Nitish Kumar Reddy (IND) - Afghani 100,000
IND vs AFG 2nd T20I Key Stats
- Mohammad Nabi became 5th player in history to score 2500 runs and pick 100 wickets in the T20I format.
- Abhishek Sharma has now become the 3rd Indian batter to score 800+ T20I runs in a calendar year.
- Afghanistan have now lost 10 consecutive matches against India in T20I format.
