India and Afghanistan are two of the most exciting cricket teams worldwide, boasting an enthralling rivalry full of tradition and ambition.
Afghanistan created history in March 2017 when they made history as the first Associate nation ever to play against one of the top eight Full members in an ODI series and T20Is played at Greater Noida.
They took on six ODIs and three T20Is during that series in India, and every india national cricket team vs afghanistan national cricket team match scorecard from those clashes remains a reminder of Afghanistan’s remarkable rise in world cricket.
| Match | Venue | Key Highlights | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Test | Greater Noida | Rahane, Pujara dominated with bat; India’s spinners troubled Afghan batters. | India in full control |
| 2nd Test | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | India scored 474; Afghanistan dismissed twice for 103 & 125. | India won by innings & 266 runs |
| 3rd T20I Series | Mohali & Indore | Rohit Sharma century; Jaiswal-Dube half-centuries; Afghanistan pushed India to Super Over. | India won series 2–1 |
| 4th Test | Various (general rivalry summary) | India consistently dominant; Afghanistan improving since ICC full membership in 2017. | India won (historic learning for Afghanistan) |
India vs Afghanistan 1st Test
Indian batsmen are currently dominating, as India are in full control. Rahane looks in good spirits and is enjoying playing his natural game while Pujara looks strong with over 50 runs already scored in this Test match. Furthermore, India’s spinners are performing impressively and Afghan players must work hard against them if they hope to survive this Test series.
Afghanistan are poised for a momentous moment as they gear up to face off against one of the top-10-rated Test teams, India. This game will provide invaluable learning experiences and an opportunity for young side to see how they fare against spin trio Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav – it will be particularly intriguing to observe Shahzad and Mohammed Nabi face these spinners head on!
Indian openers have put on an incredible performance so far in this Test series against Pakistan at Delhi in 1997 – both making tons of runs while their partnerships get stronger by the day. Both players have scored centuries in consecutive innings for only the third time ever! Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag last achieved this feat back then against Pakistan in Delhi.
Shikhar Dhawan has made swift strides with his innings and has just reached his seventh century in Tests after just 87 balls, demoralising Afghan bowlers led by Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai and leaving their opponents under immense pressure. They will hope that when play resumes they can return from this setback with renewed strength.
Ajinkya Rahane has chosen two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav in his squad as part of an experiment and may change up the playing eleven for England tour, so it will be exciting to see whom he picks for this important five-match series against them. They will miss regular skipper Virat Kohli as well as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah but remain confident their performance will still make an impactful statement about their skillset being seen.
India vs Afghanistan 2nd Test
India showed why they are the premier Test team by easily dismissing Afghanistan twice on day two at Bengaluru’s M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. Led by Ajinkya Rahane’s men, India amassed 474 in their first innings before dismissing Afghanistan for just 103 runs in their second essay to secure an innings and 266-run win for Ajinkya Rahane and India.
Afghanistan was humiliated on their debut Test appearance with their batsmen struggling to grasp the nuances of five-day cricket and being dismissed after only 66.3 overs at tea on day 2, thanks to an Indian bully’s dismissal for just 109 runs.
Rahane made no mistakes when it came to imposing the follow-on and Ishant Sharma (2/28 in five overs) and Umesh Yadav (3/26) were more than up for the task. Only Hardik Pandya offered some resistance but fell soon afterwards when playing off an easy delivery from Ishant only to see it land directly into wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai’s hands for a duck.
Afghan batsman were quickly subsumed into submission as pace bowlers and spinners took full advantage. Jadeja picked up four wickets in his innings as he tore through the lower-order with ease, while Umesh claimed three in quick succession: Mohammed Shahzad (13), Mohammad Nabi (3) and Rahmat Shah (4) in rapid succession.
Ishant made his presence felt, too, taking an important wicket against Afghanistan when they looked helpless: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3). Later he caught inexperienced Wafadar for just one run as Afghanistan were overwhelmed by their hosts’ attack. Finally it fell upon Hashmatullah Shahidi to hold out and be the sole survivor for Afghanistan, hitting 10 boundaries in his unbeaten 61-ball innings before they were all out for just 125 runs.
India vs Afghanistan 3rd Test
Rohit Sharma remains unbeaten in India’s three-match T20 series against Afghanistan after leading them to an easy win in game three of their three-match tie in Mohali and Indore thanks to Shivam Dube’s back-to-back half centuries and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s brilliant innings from her second match victory.
However, India were taken all the way to Super Over in the final match of this series by Afghanistan who showed incredible heart and fought their way back into contention with impressive batting from Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi – even matching India’s mammoth total of 212 and nearly winning their maiden international victory against them until Ravi Bishnoi managed to catch Ravi’s last ball for an unforgettable defeat for India.
Rohit Sharma scored an unforgettable century (121b, 69×4, 11×4) to propel India to 211 and set an immense total for Pakistan to chase down. Additionally, his partnership with Jaiswal formed the highest ever T20I partnership ever between two Indian batsmen – making for an entertaining viewing experience that left viewers breathless!
Both teams have now tied at the top of the ICC T20I World Rankings with 20 points each and look to capitalize on this momentum when they meet at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 17. India may look for an undefeated sweep against Afghanistan while Afghanistan hopes that this series can act as an opening gambit in their campaign ahead.
India will likely field its same squad for this match, save for possibly including Kuldeep Yadav and Avesh Khan as potential additions. Both spinners have played in two T20Is already; it will be interesting to see which pair Rohit Sharma chooses when it comes to Super Over.
India vs Afghanistan 4th Test
India and Afghanistan cricket matches are among the most thrilling in international cricket. Both sides are well known for their fierce rivalry and have given each other some fiercely close games over time.
India has always come out victorious in these matches against Afghanistan and have thus cemented themselves as the premier cricket team worldwide, inspiring many fans to look forward to watching India vs Afghanistan matches.
Though cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the 19th century, its national team didn’t experience success until early 21st century. The Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995, becoming an affiliate member of ICC in 2001 before receiving full ICC membership (and test status) only recently in June 2017.
Afghanistan recently participated in the ICC World Cup Twenty20 tournament and were successful in qualifying for the Super 10 stage by finishing second in their group. They managed to defeat Bangladesh and Ireland during this tournament while almost defeating Sri Lanka.
After this, they faced England in their inaugural one-off ODI match – an historic occasion as this marked the first time an affiliate team took on a full member team and lost by five wickets; nonetheless, their performance marked a great step forward for Bangladesh cricket.
In their second ODI match against New Zealand, India lost by four wickets but went on to win all remaining matches and ultimately become champions of the tournament.
Lalchand Rajput, former coach of Pakistan National Cricket team. With vast experience and success leading his own side to victories both Tests and ODIs he is widely renowned for his tactical acumen and keen ability to read the game well – not forgetting having worked closely with many top players like Virat Kohli.
