Afghanistan vs India cricket match
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The gist
India beat Afghanistan by 7 wickets in the 1st T20I in Delhi on Sep 13, 2026.
The three-match series is Afghanistan's home fixture played in India.
Background
The series is officially called the Friendship Cup and is being played in New Delhi, with India designated as the away side even though they are playing at home, because Afghanistan do not currently have a suitable venue to host international matches. Afghanistan have previously used Dehradun, Greater Noida, Lucknow and venues in the UAE for home games. The Afghanistan Cricket Board is hosting the series as part of an arrangement between the two boards. India are using the matches to fine-tune their squad before the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
How it unfolded
- Jun 2026Afghanistan lost a one-off Test and a three-match ODI series to India without a single win; India completed a 3-0 ODI clean sweep.
- Sep 12, 2026Preview notes said India faced selection calls, with Shreyas Iyer needing to pick two openers from Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma.
- Sep 13, 2026In the 1st T20I at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, India won by 7 wickets with 38 balls remaining. Afghanistan made 157 and India chased it in 13.4 overs.
- Sep 13, 2026Abhishek Sharma hit his half-century in 22 balls, scoring 82 off 32 balls with seven fours and seven sixes. Azmatullah Omarzai's half-century rescued Afghanistan from a bad position.
- Sep 15, 2026The 2nd T20I is scheduled at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, at 7:00 PM IST.
- Sep 17, 2026The 3rd T20I is scheduled at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, at 7:00 PM IST.
- Sep 24, 2026The cricket tournament at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan begins.
Who’s saying what
- India
- India lead the head-to-head record against Afghanistan having won eight of the nine matches between the teams, with one game ending in no result, and will be looking to fine-tune their squad before departing for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
- Afghanistan
- Afghanistan will be hoping for a change in fortunes with Ibrahim Zadran captaining the side in his first assignment since being appointed full-time T20I skipper, and know they need to up their game massively to respond with a win in the second T20 match.
Still unverified
Betting odds listed India as favourites at 1.10 on Dafa and Afghanistan at 6.60; these are unconfirmed market figures.