Arshdeep Singh’s early breakthrough silences Gurbaz in India‑Afghanistan T20 clash

It was a crisp September evening at the Arun Jaitley Stadium when India took the field against Afghanistan for the penultimate game of the three‑match series. The toss, won by skipper Shreyas Iyer, saw him elect to bowl first, a decision that would soon pay off.

India made a single tweak to the playing XI – the mysterious spinner Ravi Bishnoi slipped in for the injured Varun Chakaravarthy, who had suffered a sudden side‑strain during the third over of the first T20I. The board confirmed the setback, leaving the young left‑arm orthodox out of the remaining fixtures.

Right‑arm fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah opened the attack with textbook precision, gifting Afghanistan a maiden over as captain Ibrahim Zadran settled in. The excitement was palpable, but it was Arshdeep Singh who stole the limelight in the very next over.

On the third ball of Afghanistan’s second over, Arshdeep released a back‑of‑a‑length delivery that hovered just outside off‑stump. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, eager to play his natural attacking stroke, tried to drive it down the ground. The ball slipped under his bat, producing a faint top‑edge that Ravi Bishnoi scooped up at mid‑on. Three balls, no runs – a three‑ball duck for the Afghan opener, and the scoreboard read 0/1 after 1.3 overs.

That early wicket set the tone. By the end of the fourth over Afghanistan had scraped to 24/1, with Zadran (19 off 16) and youngster Sediqullah Atal (4 off 5) trying to rebuild. Meanwhile, India’s bowlers kept the pressure ticking, buoyed by the early success.

The dismissal was captured on video and quickly made the rounds on social media, sparking a chorus of “well‑bowled!” comments from fans. It also marked the second consecutive match in which Gurbaz failed to open his account, a painful repeat for the left‑handed wicket‑keeper‑batsman.

India’s line‑up for the day featured Sanju Samson behind the stumps, with the usual batting firepower of Iyer, Kishan, and Ishan Kishan ready to chase. The match, still in progress at the time of writing, promises more drama, especially with the bowlers looking to build on the early breakthroughs.