WATCH: Abhishek Sharma sets new T20I record for Team India, surpasses…

India vs Afghanistan 2026: Former world No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma smashed a blazing 82 off 32 balls with 7 sixes and 7 fours as Shreyas Iyer’s side began a three-match series against ‘hosts’ Afghanistan with a dominant seven-wicket win and more than six overs to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.

Abhishek’s explosive knock came with a strike-rate of 256.25 and put on a match-winning partnership of 121 runs in just 53 balls with his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate Ishan Kishan, who notched up 42 in 33 balls with 1 six and 5 fours. The Team India opener set a new T20I world record for India surpassing former India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav in the process.

The Punjab southpaw, who was retained for Rs 14 crore by Kavya Maran’s SRH, notched up his third fifty-plus score at a strike-rate of over 250 for India in his T20I career. Mumbai Indians batter Suryakumar Yadav has hit two fifty-plus scores at a strike-rate of 250 in T20I cricket while batters like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya have only one fifty at strike-rate of over 250. liveiplscore.homes

WATCH Abhishek Sharma score a blazing fifty against Afghanistan in the 1st T20I match HERE…

Abhishek Sharma doing what he does best

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NewsZaheer has been told to pick his support staff, as of now, nobody is …Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have held talks with Mohit Sharma to be their next bowling coach, but nothing has been finalised yet. Zaheer Khan, the new head coach, has the liberty ...Open →

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Abhishek Sharma’s fifty came off only 22 balls on Sunday – his 14th fifty in T20I cricket. Out of these 14 fifties, 12 have come under 25 balls. No other batter in history of T20I cricket has achieved this feat with Suryakumar Yadav being 2nd best with 9 fifties in less than 25 balls.

“I mean, of course, once you have decided, because I still remember two years back we decided we want to play in a certain way. We want to dominate all the teams throughout the whole year before the World Cup and things went pretty well for all the team, and especially for the batsmen as well,” Abhishek Sharma said in the post-match presentation on Sunday.

Abhishek Sharma won his sixth ‘Player of the Match’ award in T20I, equally the record of Ishan Kishan and Kuldeep Yadav in this format for India. Suryakumar Yadav holds the Indian record currently with 17 ‘Player of the Match’ awards while former India captain Virat Kohli retired with 16.

“But I think one or two series won’t define our team as a batting unit, because the way we all think as a batting unit, it always makes a team first. So we always wanted to give that start as openers, especially wickets like this, if you’re chasing 150, 160, and you give an early start as openers, it always makes you on the winning side,” Abhishek added.

Indian captain Shreyas Iyer felt Abhishek Sharma’s batting was simply ‘flawless’ on Sunday. “Starting off with Abhishek, I feel that the shots he played, it was flawless, and some of them were exemplary. But talking about Ishan, yeah, he’s been in great form currently, and the way he’s been portraying himself in the dressing room and also on the ground during practice sessions, he’s very relaxed, calm, and he knows his game at the moment,” Iyer said.

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 14 (ANI): The parents of Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma on Monday lauded the women’s cricket team’s Asia Cup 2026 triumph, praising the players’ collective effort and expressing hope that the team will continue its winning momentum at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.

Deepti’s mother Sushila Sharma told ANI that she avoids making predictions before matches and prefers to speak only after the team’s victory.

“I don’t make claims beforehand; I only speak after the victory. In the mornings, my focus is solely on God and on the children’s game. But after the win, my entire focus is on that. Deepti played very well, and I hope she continues to play like this. Wherever she goes, my blessings will be with her. She will always have the blessings of Bharat Mata and the grace of Lord Hanuman," she said.

Bhagwan Sharma, Deepti’s father, praised the Indian team’s all-round performance in the final, highlighting contributions from both batters and bowlers.

“Team India’s women put up a fantastic performance. They batted first, with every player contributing right down to the last ball. The openers were brilliant, and then came the bowling effort. Everyone bowled well, and they avenged their previous Asia Cup loss by defeating Sri Lanka this time around. I want to thank all the players," he told ANI.

He also expressed confidence in the team’s prospects at the Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Japan.

“The Asian Games are coming up in Japan; I hope they deliver a similarly excellent performance there and bring home the gold medal," Bhagwan Sharma added.

Deepti’s brother and coach Sumit Sharma also congratulated the Indian team and praised his sister’s consistency across departments.

“I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the entire Indian Women’s Cricket Team. The team has performed exceptionally well throughout the tournament and secured a victory in today’s final with a brilliant performance. My best wishes go out to the whole team," Sumit told ANI.

Speaking about Deepti’s performance, he said, “As for Deepti, she has maintained great consistency in her performance; she is delivering excellent results, whether with the bat, the ball, or in the field. She always contributes significantly to the team’s success. In today’s final as well, she played a crucial role in the victory by taking three wickets. I hope she continues this excellent form in future matches."

Deepti played a key role in India’s 72-run victory over Sri Lanka in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026 final in Dubai, claiming three wickets as the team secured its eighth continental title.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, with Deepti finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

The Indian Women’s Cricket Team defeated Sri Lanka in a dominant fashion in the Womens Asia Cup 2026 Final to become the Asian champions for a record eighth time.

The India vs Sri Lanka Women’s Asia Cup final was played at the Dubai International Stadium today. Both teams had come into this game undefeated. India defeated Pakistan, Thailand, and Hong Kong in the group stage before beating Bangladesh in the semis.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka topped their group with wins over Bangladesh, the UAE, and Indonesia before beating Pakistan in the semi-final.

India vs Sri Lanka Womens Asia Cup 2026 Final: How It Played Out

The Indian Women’s Cricket Team won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch that was kind towards batters. Suffice it to say, it was the correct decision.

The opening duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave the Women in Blue a flying start. While Smriti played a supporting role during the powerplay, Shafali went on the charge. At the sixth over mark, India had not lost any wickets and had scored 57 runs.

The flow of runs did not stop after the powerplay, with a boundary or two coming in each over, most of them coming from Shafali.

In the eighth over, Verma reached her half-century, cementing her spot as the highest run scorer in this competition. She reached the milestone in just 24 balls.

The runs kept piling up, and so, by the end of the 10th over, India had scored 98 runs without losing any wickets. By this time, Smriti Mandhana had picked up the pace as well.

By the end of the 11th over, Mandhana had reached the 50-run mark as well, taking 35 balls to do so.

The first wicket would fall soon after; by the end of the 13th over, Shafali Verma would lose her wicket. Left-arm spinner Chamudi Praboda. Seeing Shafali come down the track, Praboda shortened her delivery. Verma looked to hit the ball over extra cover but did not get the desired connection and was caught by skipper Chamari Athapaththu at cover for 68 off 39.

This brought Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur to the strike. However, in the very next over, India would lose another wicket, as Smriti Mandhana would be run out after a terrible mix-up. She was dismissed after making a fine of 59 off 39. By the end of the 14th over, the score was 134/2 with two fresh batters on strike.

In the next two overs, only 13 runs were scored. It was clear that the Indians needed someone to start scoring quickly. Richa Ghosh tried taking up that responsibility, hitting a four and a six in the 17th over. But on the first ball of the 18th, Ghosh looked to sweep an uppish delivery by Athapaththu but instead edged it high in the air and was caught for 17 off 13.

Two more wickets fell in the 19th over, as sling-arm pacer Mithali Ayodhya dismissed Harmanpreet Kaur and Bharati Fulmali on back-to-back deliveries. With the score at 167/5 at the end of the 19th, it seemed that India would fall well short of the desired 200-run total, something that was well on the cards by the halfway mark.

However, off the back of a boundary and a maximum by Gunalan Kamalini on the final two deliveries of the innings, India reached an above-par total of 183/5 in their allotted 20 overs.

For the Sri Lankan Women’s Cricket Team, the pair of Imesha Dulani and skipper Chamari Athapaththu opened the batting. But their opening stint wasn’t as successful as that of India in the first innings, as in the fourth ball of the first over, bowled by Kranti Gaud, Dulani was bowled after missing a delivery that was moving in completely; she made a run-a-ball four.

Sri Lanka trudged along for the remainder of the powerplay. And apart from a 12-run fifth over, the Lankan Lionesses did not make more than seven runs in the first eight overs of the innings. At the end of the sixth, the score was 138/1, and the required rate had already crossed 10.

Having hit a four and a six in the ninth over by Prema Rawat, Athapaththu lost her wicket at the hands of Deepti Sharma in the 10th. Chamari tracked down the pitch; Deepti pulled the ball back and spun it away from the batter. The Sri Lankan captain was stumped after making 36 off 32.

And then, before the over ended, Sharma booked her second wicket of the night. Vishmi Gunaratne moved across to dispatch the ball to the boundary rope but was instead met by a quick yorker and was bowled for 20 off 22. At the end of the 10th over, the Lankans were reeling at 63/3, needing 212 runs in 10 overs to win with two fresh batters on strike.

Only 16 runs came in the next three overs, and the pressure of the mounting required run rate got to the batters, as in the 14th over, Harshitha Samarawickrama fell victim to the spin of Shree Charani. Having lost her footing to a flat delivery, Samarawickrama hit the ball right into Charani’s hands and was out for nine off 14.

In the last portion of the game, India, despite showcasing some poor fielding, was well on top of this game. In the 16th over, Shree Charani took her second wicket of the night, dismissing Kavisha Dilhari for seven off five after a brilliant diving catch by Nandani Sharma at short third man.

Charani took her third later in that over, dismissing the settled Nilakshi Silva for 22 off 16. Silva mistimes a sweep on a flighted delivery, edging the ball up in the air and being caught.

Part-time spinner Shafali Verma bowled all four of her overs today. And in her last over, she even took a wicket, dismissing Hasini Perera, who was caught at short third man after a reverse sweep for one off three. By the end of the 17th over, the game had already rolled out of the hands of the Sri Lankan Women’s Cricket Team, as they were stranded at 104/7.

Another wicket came in the 18th over, as Shree Charani took her fourth wicket. Sugandika Kumari mistimed a sweep and was caught at midwicket for one off seven. Then, in the 19th over, Prema Rawat took her first wicket of the night, stumping Mithali Ayodhya for a duck.

On the last delivery of the final over of the game, Deepti Sharma bowled out Sri Lanka by taking the 10th wicket of the innings, bowling Kaushani Nuthyangana for nine off 14.

And just like that, the Indian Women’s Cricket Team defeated Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final by a whopping 72 runs. In just 10 editions of this tournament, this is India’s eighth triumph, establishing their dominance in Asian cricket in the 21st century.

For scoring 68 off 39 and registering figures of 1.23 in her four-over spell in this India vs Sri Lanka Women’s game, Shafali Verma was named the Player of the Match. She also finished this tournament as its highest run-scorer, making 236 runs in five games at an average of 47.20 and a strike rate of 171.01, with three half-centuries.

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