New Delhi, Sept 2026 : 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, with the hosts looking to complete a 3-0 series sweep.
India have already secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Afghanistan, meanwhile, will be aiming to avoid a clean sweep and finish the series with a victory.
Afghanistan made two changes to their playing XI for the final match. Wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad and seam-bowling all-rounder Gulbadin Naib were left out, with right-arm medium pacer Abdullah Ahmadzai and wicketkeeper-batter Noor Rahman coming into the side. Noor Rahman is making his T20I debut.
Explaining the decision to bowl first, Zadran said Afghanistan had wanted to chase in the previous two matches as well but had lost the toss on both occasions.
“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,” Zadran said after the toss.
He said Afghanistan would look to put India under pressure and prevent the hosts from posting a big total.
Despite having already lost the series, Zadran said his team had identified areas that needed improvement after the first two matches.
“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.
Zadran acknowledged India’s strength across departments but said Afghanistan would focus on executing their plans without overcomplicating matters.
India also made one change to their playing XI, 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 remain without a game in the series.
India captain Shreyas Iyer said his team would have preferred to bat first as well and stressed the importance of adapting to the conditions rather than becoming complacent after winning the series.
“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,” Iyer said.
He added that batting first did not mean India would immediately attack without assessing the situation.
“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,” the India skipper 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.
