India Beat Afghanistan by 7 Wickets in 2nd T20I, Seal Series 2-0 in Delhi

India wrapped up the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan on Tuesday night, beating the visitors by 7 wickets in the second game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi to move to an unassailable 2-0 lead. The win means the series is already decided, with only a dead-rubber third T20I left to play in Delhi on September 17.

Bishnoi Steps In For the Injured Chakravarthy

Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first, a call built around the belief that the Arun Jaitley Stadium pitch would offer the seamers and spinners some early help. The bigger talking point in India's XI was personnel rather than tactics: leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi came in for Varun Chakravarthy, who had been ruled out of the rest of the series after picking up a side strain in the series opener. The appearance was Bishnoi's 50th T20I cap for India, and he slotted into a bowling attack that also featured Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel.

Speaking at the toss, Iyer admitted India had left something on the table in the first game. "It wasn't comprehensive because we could have won by a huge margin. As a bowling unit, we could have picked wickets in the middle," he said, while confirming Bishnoi's inclusion for the injured Chakravarthy. Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran said his side, unchanged from the opener, wanted to play more positively after a slow start in the first match, and would have opted to bowl first too had they won the toss.

A Repeat of the Opening Night

The result followed a similar pattern to the series opener on Sunday, where India had also won by 7 wickets after Afghanistan posted 156 for 8, built around an unbeaten 64 from Azmatullah Omarzai and undone by a sharp 3 for 19 from Arshdeep Singh with the ball. In that chase, Abhishek Sharma's 82 off 32 balls and Ishan Kishan's 42 shared a 121-run stand that took India home inside 14 overs. With the same core group of batters again at the crease on Tuesday, India once more chased down Afghanistan's total with wickets and overs in hand, giving the visitors little room to force a fightback and keep the series alive.

Series Sealed, One Dead Rubber Left

With the series wrapped up 2-0, the remaining T20I in Delhi on September 17 becomes a chance for India's think tank to experiment rather than a contest for the trophy. Expect selection questions to dominate the build-up to that finale, including whether uncapped-at-home teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finally gets an opportunity in the XI, and whether the management gives some of the frontline bowlers, including Bumrah, a breather with nothing left to play for. For Afghanistan, already 0-2 down, the final game is now about pride and building momentum ahead of their next assignments, after two matches in which their batting has repeatedly struggled to build partnerships against India's seam and spin combination.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.