New Delhi, Sep 17: India made a blistering start in the third and final T20I against Afghanistan, reaching 100 for no loss after the powerplay at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Thursday.
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson put on a century opening stand as India looked to complete a 3-0 sweep after sealing the three-match series with victories in the first two games.
Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran won the toss and opted to bowl first, saying the pitch was supportive of bowlers and his side would look to prevent India from posting a big total.
India made one change to their playing XI, bringing in Yash Thakur for Arshdeep Singh. Young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was again not included in the playing XI.
India had won the second T20I by seven wickets after restricting Afghanistan to 159 for eight. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was the standout bowler, claiming three wickets and breaking crucial partnerships.
India chased down the target in just 14.5 overs, with Sanju Samson hitting a half-century to help power the chase.
India captain Shreyas Iyer said the team would have preferred to bat first but welcomed the challenge of bowling first.
“We would have batted first. It also gives us a fun challenge. It’s important that we stick to the moment and not complicate things,” Iyer said.
Afghanistan, meanwhile, are seeking a consolation victory after losing the series.
“We have lost the series, but we thought about the areas we need to work on and what we haven’t done well in the last two games,” Zadran said.
“We will try to play better cricket and win a game against them to finish well,” he added.
India XI: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah.
Afghanistan XI: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Darwish Rasooli, Noor ul Rahman, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
