Abhishek Sharma's 30-ball hundred sets up a 127-run win as India sweep Afghanistan

Abhishek Sharma's 34-ball 108 carried India to 221 for 7 before Afghanistan were bowled out for 94 in a 127-run defeat that completed a 3-0 sweep in Delhi

India beat Afghanistan by 127 runs in the third and final T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday, closing out a series they had already won with the most destructive innings an India batter has played in the format.

Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bowl. India made 221 for 7 in their 20 overs, Abhishek Sharma striking 108 from 34 balls with nine fours and 11 sixes, and reaching his hundred in 30 balls.

The reply lasted 14.1 overs. Afghanistan were bowled out for 94, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravi Bishnoi taking three wickets each.

Thirty balls, and a record that had stood since 2017

Abhishek's hundred was the fastest by an India batter in T20Is, taking him past Rohit Sharma, who reached three figures in 35 balls against Sri Lanka in 2017.

It was also the quickest T20I century by anyone from a Test-playing nation, and the third quickest in all T20I cricket. Only Estonia's Sahil Chauhan, who needed 27 balls against Cyprus in 2024, and Turkey's Muhammad Fahad, who took 29 against Bulgaria, have gone faster.

Abhishek marked the landmark by taking off his helmet, sitting down cross-legged on the pitch and holding a meditation pose while the Delhi crowd stood.

A powerplay nobody has matched

The damage was done inside the first six overs. Abhishek made 76 from 22 balls in the powerplay, the highest individual score recorded in that phase of a men's T20I.

A six off Rashid Khan over wide long-on took India past 100 inside the powerplay, and they reached the end of the sixth over without losing a wicket.

His 11 sixes made him the first India batter to clear the rope 10 or more times in a T20I innings on more than one occasion. He is also the fourth India batter to make three or more T20I hundreds.

Samson's fifty and a 142-run stand

Sanju Samson kept his end moving for 50 from 35 balls, and the pair put on 142 for the first wicket in 9.5 overs.

Samson passed 9000 runs in T20 cricket during the innings, taking a single off Mohammad Nabi to reach the mark after Ibrahim Zadran dived at mid-off and could not hold the chance.

Afghanistan pulled the rate back once the opening stand broke, taking seven wickets in all. Shreyas Iyer hit Rashid Khan over deep extra cover and Abdullah Ahmadzai over long-off to carry India past 200 in the closing overs.

Afghanistan fold in 14.1 overs

Nitish Kumar Reddy took the new ball and finished with 3-25. Ravi Bishnoi returned 3-26, Axar Patel took two wickets, and Jasprit Bumrah and Yash Thakur one each.

Zadran, Afghanistan's captain, top-scored with 25 from 16 balls before picking out Ishan Kishan at deep square leg off Thakur.

Afghanistan were 50 at the end of their powerplay, a start that gave them nothing against a target of 222, and the last of their wickets went in a heap short of the 15th over.

What the sweep leaves behind

India had already secured the series with a seven-wicket win in the second T20I, and used the dead rubber to give Kishan, Shivam Dube and Thakur time in the middle.

For Afghanistan, a third defeat in three matches followed the same pattern as the first two: a top order that could not survive the powerplay, and senior batters left to repair an innings already beyond repair.

India's total was built almost entirely in the first half of the innings: 142 runs came inside the opening 10 overs, and 108 of them were Abhishek's.

Scorecard: India 221 for 7 (Abhishek Sharma 108, Sanju Samson 50) beat Afghanistan 94 (Ibrahim Zadran 25; Nitish Kumar Reddy 3-25, Ravi Bishnoi 3-26) by 127 runs.

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