India defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets in the 2nd T20I in Delhi, powered by Sanju Samson’s 57 and Nitish Kumar Reddy’s three-wicket haul.
Sanju Samson Leads India to Comfortable Seven-Wicket Victory Over Afghanistan in Delhi
Team India put on a clinical performance under the lights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, securing a commanding seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the second T20I.
A brilliant half-century from Sanju Samson, supported by a disciplined bowling attack led by Nitish Kumar Reddy, helped the hosts successfully chase down the target and take control of the series.
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Afghanistan Post Competitive Total on the Board
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Afghanistan looked to set a challenging target on a pitch that offered some early assistance to the bowlers. Opener Ibrahim Zadran anchored the innings with a gritty knock of 37 runs, trying to steady the ship after early setbacks. Despite a few aggressive cameos in the middle overs, regular breakthroughs from the Indian bowlers kept the scoring rate in check. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the standout bowler for India, putting on a brilliant display of pace and control to finish with fantastic figures of 3 for 24, restricting Afghanistan to 169 for 8 — wait, 159 for 8 at the end of their twenty overs.
Rashid Khan Strikes Early for the Visitors
Chasing a target of 160, India started aggressively in the powerplay. Abhishek Sharma played a quick-fire knock of 39 runs, finding the boundary with ease and setting an upbeat tempo. However, star leg-spinner Rashid Khan struck back for Afghanistan with a brilliant spell of middle-overs mastery. Rashid picked up three crucial wickets while conceding 36 runs, temporarily slowing down India’s momentum and giving the visiting side a glimmer of hope as the required run rate crept up.
Samson and Kishan Seal the Win with Ease
Any hopes of an Afghan upset were quickly extinguished by Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. Samson played a magnificent, composed innings of 57 runs, anchoring the chase with elegant stroke-play and smart rotation of the strike.
At the other end, Kishan provided the finishing touches with an unbeaten 38, guiding the ball into gaps with absolute confidence. Samson and Kishan’s mature partnership ensured there were no further scares, comfortably steering India over the finish line with seven wickets in hand and overs to spare.