India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Playing XI and toss coming from Delhi

India will take on Afghanistan in the three-match T20I series before heading to Japan to play a solitary game against them, followed by the Asian Games. Follow all the live updates below from the first T20I, Toss coming at 7:00 PM IST

Shreyas Iyer’s India will take on Ibrahim Zadran’s Afghanistan in the first of the three-match T20I series starting on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Although the series will be held in India, Afghanistan will be the official host of the bilateral event

India vs Afghanistan live streaming details: Watch here

India has been quite dominant against Afghanistan in all formats of cricket in the past, and the conditions in Delhi will be conducive to Indian batting, with short boundaries and a flat wicket. The conundrum for India, though, is who will be in the top three.

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Afghanistan, on the other hand, has quite experienced players in their lineup who are used to these conditions and have played against Indian players several times before through international cricket or the Indian Premier League. The challenge for them, though, is to combine those individual performances to put up a solid output. 

SCROLL BELOW FOR OF INDIA VS AFGHANISTAN 1st T20I UPDATES FROM DELHI

Live Updates
Sep 13, 2026 06:09 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Rahane on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's cricket skills

"If we talk about cricket skills, we saw how well he batted in the IPL and scored consistently. He scored for India A and also made runs for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy. He has shown consistency. The only thing for him will be to stay mentally balanced and stable so that he can continue operating the way he does. Yes, he will have to make some tweaks in his game, but there is time for that."

Sep 13, 2026 06:00 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Rahane on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

"I think he should just play his game right now. He should back the game that led him to come into the Indian team. It is a very early stage for him in his career and in international cricket. As of now, there is no need for him to think a lot, and he should be set free. His game will eventually change after two or three years, as much as he keeps playing. It will be important for him to maintain balance. Apart from cricket skills, it is important to stay balanced off the field. That will be a challenge for him," he said.

Sep 13, 2026 05:50 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Rahane on Sanju Samson

"I am happy to see Sanju Samson back in the team. He was the 'Man of the Series' in the World Cup. It has been up and down, and things were happening to him that were not in his control. But he is a match-winner, and his return strengthens the team."

Sep 13, 2026 05:40 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Ajinkya Rahane on Sanju Samson

"I feel the top three should be the same that played in the World Cup. Samson has done well, but he got dropped after two or three bad innings. I want him to get another chance. Abhishek and Ishan also did well for us. Vaibhav will get his opportunities, and his time will come. But for now, I feel the top three should be Samson, Abhishek, and Ishan, who were our contributors in the World Cup," he said in a video on his Hindi YouTube channel.

Sep 13, 2026 05:33 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Dinesh Kartik on Indian team

“I want this Indian T20 team to understand what their identity is. New captain, new vice-captain. They haven't got the result in Ireland or in England. They were absolutely outplayed there. What does it take? What is their plan? What is the bowling looking like? Who are the players you are going to trust? A lot of this is not just about winning the series; it's about understanding what they need to take out from this series against Afghanistan,” he said.

Sep 13, 2026 05:20 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Dinesh Karthik on Sanju Samson

“What is the batting order going to look like? Where does Vaibhav Suryavanshi stand, and what about Sanju Samson? How are you going to fit him in? He was such an important player in the World Cup and was dropped midway through that England series. Where does he stand?” Karthik said on Instagram.

Sep 13, 2026 05:10 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: AFG predicted XI

Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran (c), Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq.

Sep 13, 2026 04:59 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: IND predicted XI

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan/Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

Sep 13, 2026 04:49 PM IST
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Hola!

Hello and welcome to our live blog of India taking on Afghanistan in the first T20I from New Delhi. Well, given the talent of Afghanistan, one can never write off what they can bring to the table, especially in this format of the game. However, India will start as firm favourites to win the series. Do stay with us to get all the live updates.

Sooryavanshi’s new-ball problem meets an Afghan attack built to exploit it

Four months after striking a 21-ball 46 against top international pacers like Mitchell Starc and Lungi Ngidi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi faced a reality check at the same venue. During a national team training session ahead of the T20I series against Afghanistan, elite Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Yash Thakur repeatedly beat his bat in the nets. (Read more from Shuvaditya Bose)

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