Samson, bowlers guide India to series win

Sanju Samson roared back to form with a 22-ball 57, including seven fours and four sixes, as India clinched the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan with a game in hand. Nitish Reddy and Arshdeep Singh shared five wickets to restrict Afghanistan to 159 for 8. Samson then powered the chase with a blitzy knock, while Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan provided support with useful 30s as India needed only 14.5 overs to reach the target, winning by 7 wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Abhishek was his explosive self as he began India's chase with two fours off Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the opening over, while he also put away Mohammad Nabi for a couple of sixes as he raced away to 25 off 14. Samson, who was on 8 off 10, surpassed his opening partner with three fours and a six off Azmatullah Omarzai in the fifth over, which yielded 20. The final over of the Powerplay, bowled by Nabi, was even more profitable as Abhishek's six was followed by 6, 4, 4, 6 for Samson, powering India to 82 for 0 after six overs.

Abhishek also struck a maximum off Rashid Khan but his innings ended soon after as the left-hander departed for 39 off 19. In the same over, Samson reached a 20-ball fifty with a boundary, struck a six after that, and was then dismissed by Rashid, leaving India at 99 for 2 after 7 overs. Kishan didn't take long to get going, dispatching Noor for a maximum, but Afghanistan bowled some quiet overs, with the left-hander and Shreyas Iyer not taking any risks against the wristspinners. But the carnage in the Powerplay ensured India were in pole position, moving to 117 for 2 at the halfway stage.

Shreyas was on 5 off 8 before he decided to take on Rashid, going over covers for a six. But the legspinner struck soon after, bagging his third wicket thanks to a good catch from skipper Ibrahim Zadran at slip. India needed 35 from nine overs and got the job done with 5.1 overs to spare, with Kishan striking two fours and a six off Mujeeb, and a boundary off Rashid to finish the game.

Earlier, opting to bowl again, India got off to a good start as Jasprit Bumrah bowled a maiden to Zadran before Arshdeep struck with a short and slow delivery to dismiss Rahmanullah Gurbaz for his second successive duck. Zadran got Afghanistan going with two back-to-back boundaries in Bumrah's second over, followed by two more successive fours off Arshdeep. Sediqullah Atal also got a four off the left-arm seamer, who went for 13 in his second over. Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi also conceded three boundaries between them as Afghanistan ended the Poweplay at 41 for 1.

The second wicket pair raised a half-century stand but Zadran fell soon after, hitting a short ball from Nitish straight to deep mid wicket. Atal then handed a catch to long off to give Bishnoi his first wicket while Nitish dismissed Gulbadin Naib off a leading edge, leaving Afghanistan at 67 for 4 in the 11th over. Darwish Rasooli and Omarzai began a counter-attack, with the former striking sixes off Shivam Dube and Axar. The partnership, however, ended when Axar picked up the wicket of Omarzai, who had earlier been reprieved by a drop from Bishnoi. Arshdeep returned to the attack and sent Rasooli back, as Afghanistan slipped to 100 for 6 in the 15th over.

Nabi set the tone for the death overs with a four and a six off Bishnoi while Rashid came down the track and slashed Bumrah for a boundary. The legspinning allrounder then took on Arshdeep, striking two fours and a six in a 16-run 18th over. Nabi hit a four off Bumrah, who eventually dismissed him to end the entertaining 48-run stand. Nitish then picked up the wicket of Rashid in the final over but ended up getting hit for a six by Noor Ahmad off the last ball as Afghanistan finished three runs more than what they posted in the opening T20I, although this total too proved insufficient.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 159/8 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 37 off 33, Rashid Khan 28 off 16; Nitish Kumar Reddy 3-24, Arshdeep Singh 2-35) lost to India 163/3 in 14.5 overs (Sanju Samson 57 off 22, Abhishek Sharma 39 off 19, Ishan Kishan 38* off 23; Rashid Khan 3-36) by 7 wickets.