Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai (R) plays a shot as India's wicketkeeper Sanju Samson fields the ball during the first T20 international cricket match between India and Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on September 13, 2026. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)

New Delhi: Jasprit Bumrah bowled some sharp deliveries but it was Arshdeep Singh who stole the show with a 3 for 19 burst as India restricted Afghanistan to 156 for eight in the opening game of the three-match T20I series here on Sunday. The two spinners Varun Chakravarthy (1/16 in 4 overs) and Axar Patel (1/27 in 4 overs) controlled the proceedings till the first 10 overs before Azmatullah Omarzai (64 no off 44 balls) and Mohammed Nabi (33 off 27 balls) added 83 runs for the sixth wicket to help the total past the 150-run mark.

Bumrah (1/26 in 4 overs) bowled at full tilt with 16 dots as he removed former Kolkata Knight Riders star Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0) with a delivery that kicked up and he edged it to Abhishek Sharma, who took a smart low catch at first slip.
At the other end, Arshdeep used variations and change of pace to good effect to initiate breakthroughs at crucial junctures.
Ibrahim Zadran (13) and Sediqullah Atal (11) played a few shots before an horrible mix-up saw the back of the Afghan skipper.
Arshdeep, who didn't let the Afghan batters chance their arms bowled a wide yorker which Atal tried to dig out and Bumrah standing at 'fly' slip took an easy catch.
Gulbadin Naib (2) played an atrocious inside out shot off Axar to be caught by Nitish Reddy. Varun, who kept attacking the stumps relentlessly then breached Darwish Rasooli's (2) defence to make it 43 for 5 in 7 overs.
But credit to Omarzai that he counter-attacked, picking up the weak link of the Indian attack -- Nitish -- for some rough treatment.
It was Arshdeep, coming for his second spell, clean bowled the dangerous Nabi after being hit for a six.
Once Nabi was gone, there was another mini-collapse. Rashid Khan (1 off 10 balls) simply couldn't get going against Bumrah and Arshdeep at the death and was holed out in the deep.
It was Omarzai, who blasted Shivam Dube for a couple of sixes as 21 runs came off the final over to ensure a 150-plus total for the 'home' team.


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