New Delhi, September 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the third and final T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.
India have already secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and will look to complete a 3-0 clean sweep with a victory in the final match.
Afghanistan made two changes to their playing XI in an effort to avoid a series whitewash, leaving out wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad and seam-bowling all-rounder Gulbadin Naib. Right-arm medium pacer Abdullah Ahmadzai and wicketkeeper-batter Noor Rahman, who is making his T20I debut, have been included.
“We wanted to bowl first in the last two games as well, but unfortunately, we lost the toss. If you look at the wicket, it’s quite supportive for the bowlers, and I’m sure we will execute our plans well in the bowling department. We will try to put pressure on them and not allow them to put a big score on the board,” Zadran said after the toss.
On Afghanistan’s mindset after conceding the series, Zadran said the team had assessed its shortcomings from the first two matches and would aim to finish the series with a victory.
“We have lost the series, but we thought about the areas we need to work on and what we haven’t done well in the last two games. We will try to play better cricket and win a game against them to finish well,” he said.
Acknowledging India’s strength across departments, Zadran said Afghanistan would focus on keeping their approach simple and giving their best on the field.
“Yes, India are one of the best teams. They have, I would say, all the departments covered in T20 cricket, but we always try to make things easy for ourselves and not complicate them. We just try to give 100 percent and play better cricket against them,” he added.
India made one change, bringing in right-arm pacer Yash Thakur in place of left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh.
The change means teenage left-arm opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and off-spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar continue to miss out on playing time.
India captain Shreyas Iyer said his side would have preferred to bat first as well, but stressed the importance of adapting to the conditions and avoiding complacency despite having already won the series.
“We would have definitely batted first as well. I interacted with him. I knew what he would do. Yes, absolutely, and it also gives us a fun challenge to bat here to the best of our abilities,” Iyer said.
He added that India would focus on staying in the moment and adapting to the match situation rather than taking unnecessary risks.
“There is no room for complacency. It’s important that we stick to the moment and see to it that we are basically backing our instincts and not complicating things. Obviously, we are batting first. That doesn’t mean that we are going to go completely berserk. We need to adapt. We need to see to it that we are getting acclimatised to the situation as well. So, good challenge, looking forward to it,” Iyer said.
Playing XIs
Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Darwish Rasooli, Noor Rahman, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah.
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