India closed out the dead-rubber third T20I against Afghanistan in emphatic fashion at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, with Abhishek Sharma blazing to a 30-ball century on the way to a 127-run win that sealed a 3-0 series sweep.
Sent in to bat, India piled up 221 for 7 in their 20 overs, built almost entirely around Sharma's innings. He reached his hundred off just 30 balls, breaking Rohit Sharma's previous mark of 35 balls for the fastest T20I century by an Indian batter, and multiple outlets covering the match also rated it the fastest T20I century by a batter from any Full Member nation. It was the third T20I century of Sharma's career. Sharma was eventually out for 108 off 34 balls, an innings built on nine fours and 11 sixes, caught behind by Rahmanullah Gurbaz off Rashid Khan in the tenth over. He marked the milestone with a meditation-style celebration, sitting cross-legged on the pitch, and got a standing ovation from the Delhi crowd on his way back to the pavilion; India head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen applauding from the dugout. Sanju Samson gave him support at the other end with a brisk 50 off 35 balls, the pair combining to take the innings away from Afghanistan inside the powerplay and through the middle overs.
Chasing 222, Afghanistan never got a foothold and were bowled out for just 94 in 14.1 overs. Nitish Kumar Reddy took 3 for 25 and Ravi Bishnoi finished with 3 for 26, sharing the bulk of the wickets as Afghanistan's batting folded well short of a total that was always going to be difficult to chase. Reddy accounted for Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, while Bishnoi removed Noor Ul Rahman, Rashid Khan and Abdullah Ahmadzai. The 127-run margin extended a series in which India had already led 2-0 after wins in the first two matches, completing a clean sweep with a game to spare left as only a formality.
That the series was already decided before a ball was bowled makes Sharma's innings more notable, not less — dead rubbers are usually where teams rest their most dangerous batters, not where records fall. Instead, Sharma turned a low-context match into one of the standout individual innings of India's T20I calendar this year, and did it against a bowling attack anchored by Rashid Khan rather than a weaker unit. For the bowling group, Reddy and Bishnoi sharing three wickets apiece in the same innings — and doing so by working through Afghanistan's middle order together rather than one bowler running away with the figures — is exactly the kind of squad depth India will want heading into a heavier home season, even in a contest where the result was barely in doubt after the first ten overs.
India now turn to their upcoming home assignments, including the white-ball series against West Indies next month, with a fresh reminder of the batting firepower available in the middle order. Sharma's knock follows his 82 in the series-opening win, giving him standout performances in two of the three matches in the series and reinforcing his case as one of the first names picked for India's top order across formats.
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The scorecard, individual figures and the fastest-century record are verified against same-day match reporting, current as of September 18, 2026.
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