Abhishek Sharma in action vs Afghanistan in the first T20I at New Delhi. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)Abhishek Sharma smashed a 32-ball 82 while Ishan Kishan scored a 42 off 33 balls to power India to a seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the first T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.Chasing 157, India managed to shrug off the early dismissal of Sanju Samson for 10, thanks to a 22-ball half century by Abhishek, which was his 12th in T20Is in addition to two centuries. Abhishek hit seven sixes and seven fours before falling short of what would have a well-deserved century. His blitz with the bat did help India stroll home in just 13.4 overs.India had caused a surprise by dropping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in favour of Samson at the top of the order. Sooryavanshi had struck a 49-ball 81 in the third T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 26. But on Sunday, he found no spot in the playing XI.After being asked to bat first by India captain Shreyas Iyer, Afghanistan had managed to score 156/8, with Arshdeep Singh (3/19) being the pick of the Indian bowlers. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also made a return to the playing XI after missing India’s recent assignments following the left-knee injury that ruled him out of an ODI in England and two Tests in Sri Lanka.Afghanistan went from 38/1 to 43/5 in the blink of an eye, a slide that started after a horrible mix-up between Sediqullah Atal and captain Ibrahim Zadran where the ball was sent to deep midwicket and Zadran tried to scamper through for a second run, but his batting partner was hesitant. Zadran slipped while running and Ishan Kishan did the rest with a perfect throw from the deep.When it looked like the Afghanistan innings would wrap up early, Azmatullah Omarzai walked out and took control, hitting an unbeaten 64 off 44 balls to resuscitate their innings. Mohammad Nabi also chipped in with a handy 33.Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.Tags:IND vs AFGIndia vs Afghanistan