Abhishek Sharma hundred steers India to 3-0 Friendship Cup sweep of Afghanistan
India beat Afghanistan by 127 runs to complete a 3-0 T20I series sweep in Delhi on September 17, 2026, in the Friendship Cup. India made 221 for 7 in 20 overs while Afghanistan were dismissed for 94 in 14.1 overs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Afghanistan were hosting India in a T20I series for the first time and had chosen Delhi as their home venue; 26,230 spectators attended the final match. The designated hosts played at a ground described as having one of the largest Afghan populations in the country.
Left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma produced the match-defining innings, reaching a century in 30 balls and finishing on 108 off 34 deliveries with 11 sixes and nine boundaries. He broke Rohit Sharma's record for the fastest T20I hundred by an Indian and completed the series with 229 runs from three matches; the BCCI tweeted: "A MAGNIFICENT MILESTONE!Relive the moment Abhishek Sharma brought up a record-breaking hundred #TeamIndia | #AFGvINDpic.twitter.com/SMbmXrtziL— BCCI (@BCCI) September 17, 2026." The report also noted Abhishek averages 56 and strikes at over 230 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Sanju Samson supported the onslaught with a fifty as he and Abhishek combined for 158 runs from 69 deliveries, but India curtailed their late-overs scoring, finishing on 221 after adding just 37 runs in the final five overs. India were 184 for 4 at the end of 15 overs; Shreyas Iyer made 27 off 20 balls, and the team’s decision to send Tilak Varma at No. 3 while moving Ishan Kishan down the order was described as backfiring.
Afghanistan’s reply folded for 94 in 14.1 overs as Axar Patel led a disciplined Indian bowling display. Nitish Kumar Reddy claimed three wickets in one over — Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman — finishing with figures of 3 for 25, while Yash Thakur returned 1 for 17 in two overs. Jasprit Bumrah, who played in all three matches, was noted for his yorkers across the series.
The Indian team management elected not to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during the series; the 15-year-old, who carried strong fan interest in Delhi and had a throwdown session before the toss, did not receive an opportunity in any of the three games, despite India holding a 2-0 lead before the final T20I and his father traveling to watch him.
India said the 3-0 result strengthened their preparations for the Asian Games, where they will defend the title and will begin their campaign with a bye to the quarter-finals; the squad is due to travel to Nagoya in the next few days and will play an exhibition match against Japan on September 22.
