Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
India face Afghanistan in the second T20I today in Delhi, holding a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
India won the opening match by 7 wickets, successfully chasing Afghanistan’s total of 156 for 8 in just 13.4 overs.
Abhishek Sharma’s half-century led India’s charge in the series-opening win.
The full series is being played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with the final match scheduled for September 17.
India can seal the series with a win today, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the final match.
The three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan is being played entirely at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
A series win for India would continue their strong recent record against Afghanistan in the shortest format of the game.
Afghanistan have shown steady improvement in T20 cricket in recent years, with several of their bowlers posing a genuine threat to top-order batters.
The Arun Jaitley Stadium, formerly known as Feroz Shah Kotla, has hosted numerous high-profile India matches across formats.
India’s T20I squad for the series includes several players who have also featured prominently in the ongoing Asian Games preparations.
A series victory in the second T20I would give India an unassailable 2-0 lead with one match still to play.
Afghanistan will be looking to bounce back after their heavy defeat in the series opener, needing a much-improved batting effort against India’s bowling attack.
The series comes as part of a busy international calendar for India across formats, with several other assignments scheduled in the coming months.
Delhi’s late-monsoon weather has occasionally affected outfield conditions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in September, though there were no reports of disruption to the series opener.
India’s team management has used bilateral T20I series like this one to assess bench strength ahead of major multi-team tournaments later in the year.
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
