India’s cricket rivalry with Afghanistan hit new heights this September, with a T20I sweep that produced the fastest T20I century ever scored by an Indian batter. Here’s a complete recap of what happened, how the two sides stack up historically, and the honest answer to whether they could face off again before the year is out.
What Happened — India Sweep Afghanistan 3-0
India completed a clean 3-0 T20I series sweep over Afghanistan, wrapping up the contest on September 17, 2026 at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. The series carried the “Friendship Cup” tag, with Afghanistan designated the official hosts despite every match being played in India, a quirk that stems from Afghanistan not having a home-eligible venue of its own available for the fixtures. Shreyas Iyer captained India throughout, with Tilak Varma as his deputy, while Ibrahim Zadran led Afghanistan in his first assignment as full-time T20I captain after taking over following the team’s exit at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier in 2026.
Match-by-Match Summary
1st T20I (September 13): India chased down 157 with 38 balls to spare, winning by seven wickets. Abhishek Sharma set the tone with a blistering 82 off 32 balls, striking seven fours and seven sixes, and added 121 runs with Ishan Kishan (42 off 33). Afghanistan had posted a modest 156-8 batting first.
2nd T20I (September 15): India sealed the series with a match to spare, chasing 160 in just 14.5 overs. Sanju Samson, who had struggled in the opener, answered questions about his place in the side with a scorching 57 off 22 balls, his fastest T20I fifty. He and Abhishek Sharma put on 88 runs in the powerplay before Ishan Kishan (38 not out) and Tilak Varma finished the job. Nitish Kumar Reddy’s 3-24 kept Afghanistan to 159-8 earlier in the innings.
3rd T20I (September 17): The series finale turned into a batting exhibition. India posted 221-7 after Afghanistan won the toss and chose to field, and Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson put on 142 for the opening wicket. Afghanistan were then bowled out for just 94 in 14.1 overs, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravi Bishnoi taking three wickets apiece, handing India a 127-run victory and a 3-0 sweep.
Abhishek Sharma’s Record-Breaking Century
The individual highlight of the series belonged to Abhishek Sharma. In the third T20I, he reached his century off just 30 balls, the fastest T20I hundred by an Indian batter, beating Rohit Sharma’s previous national record of a 35-ball century against Sri Lanka back in 2017. He finished on 108 off 34 balls with nine fours and 11 sixes before falling to Rashid Khan.
It’s worth being precise about the scope of the record. This was the fastest century by a batter representing a full ICC member nation in T20I cricket, and the third-fastest hundred in men’s T20I history overall. The only two faster centuries came from associate-nation players, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and New Zealand’s Finn Allen, in matches against lower-ranked opposition. So while headlines calling it simply “the fastest T20I century by an Indian” are accurate, framing it as an outright all-time record would overstate it slightly.
The 127-run margin was also Afghanistan’s heaviest defeat in T20I cricket, and their total of 94 was their lowest score against India in the format. India’s 100 runs inside the powerplay in that match set a national record for the highest powerplay total in India’s T20I history.
Abhishek Sharma was named Player of the Match for his century, and multiple reports credit him as Player of the Series for his combined contributions across the three games, though this specific title was verified in fewer sources than the match-level award, so treat it as the likely but slightly less firmly confirmed detail.
2026 in Review — India’s Complete Season Against Afghanistan
The September T20Is were actually the third leg of a much bigger 2026 rivalry. India and Afghanistan also played a Test and an ODI series earlier in the year, and across all three formats, India didn’t drop a single match.
Timeline: Test, ODI, and T20I Results
| Date | Format / Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| June 6–8 | One-off Test, New Chandigarh | India won by an innings and 300 runs |
| June 14 | 1st ODI, Dharamsala | India won by 7 wickets |
| June 17 | 2nd ODI, Lucknow | India won by 170 runs |
| June 20 | 3rd ODI, Chennai | India won by 9 wickets |
| September 13 | 1st T20I, Delhi | India won by 7 wickets |
| September 15 | 2nd T20I, Delhi | India won by 7 wickets |
| September 17 | 3rd T20I, Delhi | India won by 127 runs |
| September 28 (conditional) | Possible Asian Games quarter-final | Only if Afghanistan finish 2nd in Group A |
The Test match was a rout. India declared at 564-8 and bowled Afghanistan out twice for 152 and 112, winning by an innings and 300 runs. The ODI series followed the same pattern: after wins in Dharamsala and Lucknow, India closed it out in Chennai, where Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 110 and a 79 from Rohit Sharma chased down 219 for the loss of a single wicket, despite a fighting century from Afghanistan’s Hashmatullah Shahidi.
Put together, that’s nine wins from nine matches across three formats in a single calendar year, arguably India’s most one-sided season against Afghanistan to date.
Head-to-Head: India vs Afghanistan Across Formats
A quick note on accuracy here: several stats-aggregator sites list conflicting totals for the exact number of T20Is and ODIs the two sides have played historically, so we’re not going to publish a precise all-format tally that we can’t stand behind. What is consistently and reliably confirmed is this: India has never lost a Test or an ODI to Afghanistan, and the closest the two sides have ever come in a bilateral contest was a tie.
The 2024 Super Over Thriller
That tie came in January 2024 in Bengaluru, when the teams finished level at 212-212 in a T20I. India eventually won after two Super Overs, with Rohit Sharma making an unbeaten 121 and Rinku Singh contributing 69 as India recovered from a shaky 22 for 4. It remains the benchmark for how competitive this fixture can get, even amid India’s overall dominance.
Afghanistan’s best-known result against a top side came outside this head-to-head, in the 2022 Asia Cup in Dubai, though even there, India won comfortably by 101 runs behind a Virat Kohli century.
Key Players to Watch Going Forward
India’s Core Group
Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy has been notably aggressive and toss-friendly through this series, and his top order now looks stacked: Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson as a genuinely destructive opening pair, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma providing middle-order depth, and Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh anchoring an attack that also features Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravi Bishnoi as reliable wicket-takers. Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s presence on the fringes of the squad has added an extra layer of selection intrigue, with Samson’s place in the XI reportedly under some scrutiny before his series-defining fifty in the second T20I.
Afghanistan’s Rebuild Under Ibrahim Zadran
For Afghanistan, this series doubled as an early audit of life under new full-time captain Ibrahim Zadran, who took over after the side’s exit from the 2026 T20 World Cup. The results were tough reading: three defeats, two of them by seven wickets and one by 127 runs. But Zadran was Afghanistan’s most consistent batter across the series, and the visible fight from spinners like Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad suggests the bowling core remains competitive even when the batting misfires. Rebuilding momentum will matter for Afghanistan heading into their next assignments, including a likely group-stage role at the Asian Games.
Could India and Afghanistan Meet Again in 2026?
This is the question a lot of fans are searching for right now, and the honest answer is: maybe, but it’s far from guaranteed.
Asian Games 2026 Bracket, Explained
Cricket at the Asian Games 2026 is being played in the T20I format. The men’s group stage runs from September 24 to 26 and includes Afghanistan, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman and Nepal, split across groups. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the region’s top-ranked sides, skip the group stage entirely and enter directly at the quarter-final stage on September 28.
Afghanistan sit in Group A alongside Japan and Nepal. Under the tournament’s bracket structure, India is drawn to face the Group A runner-up in the quarter-finals, while Sri Lanka faces the Group A winner.
Why an IND–AFG Quarter-Final Isn’t Guaranteed
This is the detail most coverage glosses over: an India-Afghanistan quarter-final only happens if Afghanistan finish second in Group A. Given the gap in quality between Afghanistan and both Japan and Nepal, Afghanistan are the strong favorites to top the group rather than finish runner-up. If that happens, Afghanistan would instead be drawn against Sri Lanka in the quarter-final, not India.
So while it’s entirely possible fans get an India-Afghanistan Asian Games rematch on September 28, treat it as one plausible bracket outcome rather than a confirmed fixture. It depends on Afghanistan slipping to second in a group they’re expected to win.
India has named a near full-strength squad for the Games regardless, captained again by Shreyas Iyer with Tilak Varma as vice-captain, and including Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Notably, this overlaps with India’s home white-ball series against West Indies, three ODIs and five T20Is running from September 27 to October 17, meaning the Indian team management is effectively fielding two squads simultaneously during this stretch.
How to Watch India’s Upcoming Matches
India’s cricketing calendar stays busy through the back half of September and into October, with the Asian Games campaign and the home series against West Indies overlapping. Broadcast details for both have followed the recent pattern of domestic television and streaming coverage via the usual Indian sports networks; check listings closer to each fixture, since Asian Games cricket coverage in particular has varied by region.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the last India vs Afghanistan series?
India won the September 2026 T20I series 3-0, sweeping all three matches played at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
What is India’s all-time record against Afghanistan?
India has never lost a Test or ODI to Afghanistan. The closest bilateral contest was a tied T20I in January 2024, which India won in a second Super Over.
Who scored the fastest T20I century for India?
Abhishek Sharma, who reached his hundred off 30 balls against Afghanistan on September 17, 2026, beating Rohit Sharma’s previous Indian record of 35 balls.
Is there another India vs Afghanistan match coming up?
Not officially confirmed. The most realistic next meeting would be a quarter-final at the Asian Games 2026 on September 28, but only if Afghanistan finish second in their group.
Will India and Afghanistan meet at the Asian Games 2026?
Possibly, but not guaranteed. India faces the runner-up from Afghanistan’s group; if Afghanistan top the group as expected, they’d face Sri Lanka instead of India.
Who captains Afghanistan now?
Ibrahim Zadran, appointed after Afghanistan’s exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, led the side for the first time in the September T20I series against India.
Has Afghanistan ever beaten India in a bilateral series?
No. Across Tests, ODIs and T20Is, Afghanistan has never won a bilateral series against India, though the two sides did play a tied T20I in 2024.
