India Beat Afghanistan by Seven Wickets to Seal T20 Series

India sealed a three-match T20 series against Afghanistan with a match to spare after cruising to a seven-wicket victory in the second game on Tuesday.

Sanju Samson produced a blistering innings of 57 from just 22 balls, including four sixes and seven fours, as India chased down Afghanistan's 159-8 with 31 balls remaining. victory followed India's seven-wicket win in the opening match on Sunday, also played at the same venue.

Samson's explosive knock was his first T20 half-century since the World Cup final earlier this year, where he was named player of the tournament.

He received strong support from opening partner Abhishek Sharma, who struck 39 from 19 deliveries, including four sixes. The pair put on 88 from only 38 balls to give India a commanding start.

India raced to 82 without loss during the six-over powerplay before Afghanistan finally made a breakthrough. Rashid Khan dismissed Sharma in the seventh over when he was caught at deep midwicket.

Samson continued his assault, reaching his seventh T20 half-century from just 20 balls. Rashid then claimed his second wicket when Samson was caught at long-off.

India had already reached 100 after just 7.1 overs, matching its second-fastest total to that mark since 2024.

Rashid completed his three-wicket haul by dismissing India's captain Shreyas Iyer, who was caught at slip. Ishan Kishan, unbeaten on 38, and Tilak Varma, unbeaten on 15, then completed the chase.

Earlier, Afghanistan struggled after being asked to bat first.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for a second successive duck, falling to Arshdeep Singh, while captain Ibrahim Zadran scored 37 from 33 balls to prevent Afghanistan from losing further wickets during the powerplay.

Afghanistan moved from 59-2 to 100-6 during the middle overs as India's bowlers applied sustained pressure.

All-rounder Nitish Reddy was particularly effective, taking 3-24 from his three overs, including two wickets during Afghanistan's collapse.

A late partnership between Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi helped Afghanistan recover. The pair added 48 from 28 balls, with Rashid scoring 28 from 16 deliveries and Nabi contributing 20 from 14.

Despite the late resistance, Afghanistan could only reach 159-8 from its 20 overs, leaving India with a relatively modest target.

India's dominant chase ensured the series was settled with one match still to play.