India vs Afghanistan 3rd T20I Scorecard: Abhishek Sharma's 30-Ball Century and 127-Run Win Explained

The search term "scorecard" trended in India on September 17, 2026, as fans looked up the full match details of the third T20I between India and Afghanistan in Delhi. The match delivered a record-breaking night: Abhishek Sharma smashed the fastest T20I century by an Indian, and India sealed a 3-0 series whitewash with a 127-run victory. Here is what the scorecard actually shows, and why each number matters.

Abhishek Sharma's Record-Breaking 108

Abhishek Sharma, who had already scored 82 and 39 in the first two matches of the series, produced the innings of the night. According to the ICC's match report, he reached his hundred in the ninth over off just 30 balls — the fastest T20I century for India and the third-fastest overall in the format.

Key milestones from the knock:

• Fastest T20I hundred for India: 30 balls, reached in the ninth over.
• Total score: 108, dismissed by Rashid Khan one ball before the innings' halfway mark.
• 11 sixes: the second-most by an Indian men's batter in a T20I innings.
• First fifty in 16 balls: the joint fourth-fastest fifty for India. Notably, Abhishek already holds the second-fastest Indian fifty — a 14-ball effort against New Zealand in January 2026.

One clarification for record-watchers: the "fastest century" tag applies to Indian batters; globally, his 30-ball hundred ranks third-fastest in T20Is overall.

How India's Innings Unfolded

Sanju Samson played the supporting role to perfection. Watchful early on, he accelerated to score 50 — his second consecutive T20I fifty — and the opening pair added 100 runs in the powerplay, a team-best for India. After both departed, however, Afghanistan pulled things back. From 164/2 at the 13-over mark, India managed only 57 more runs in the final seven overs, hurt by three run-outs. Azmatullah Omarzai was Afghanistan's standout bowler with 2/27.

Afghanistan's Chase Collapses

Chasing a steep target, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started brightly with 31 runs in three overs. But the innings unravelled quickly:

1. Axar Patel's double-strike in the fourth over swung control back to India.
2. Jasprit Bumrah struck in the fifth over and Yash Thakur in the sixth.
3. Nitish Kumar Reddy took three wickets in five balls in the 12th over, ending Afghan hopes.

Afghanistan were bowled out in the 15th over. Ravi Bishnoi finished with 3/26 and Nitish Kumar Reddy with 3/25, sealing the 127-run win — the largest margin of the series, after India won the first two T20Is by seven wickets each.

What Came Next for Both Teams

The two sides travelled to Japan for the men's cricket tournament at the Asian Games. Before the tournament, India played a historic one-off T20I against Japan on September 22, 2026 — the first men's T20I between the two nations — which explains why cricket-related searches remained elevated in India through the week.

Why "Scorecard" Trended

Google Trends data observed on September 17, 2026, showed "scorecard" as a trending term in India with roughly 200 searches in the past 24 hours — a modest but genuine spike driven by fans checking ball-by-ball stats of Abhishek's blitz. Trending data confirms search interest, not traffic to any particular site, but the timing aligns directly with the match that evening.