India, Sept. 14 -- Abhishek Sharma had spent much of India's training time in the lead-up to the first T20I against Afghanistan bowling in the nets. On Sunday, however, it was with the bat that he made a big statement as India defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Returning to India's T20 World Cup-winning combination after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was left out to pair him with Sanju Samson at the top of the order, Abhishek played a commanding innings to set the tone after India skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl.

Afghanistan made 156/8 and India reached 157/3 in 13.4 overs chasing.

If the extra bowling work was a reflection of the sluggish pitch conditions expected in Delhi, Abhishek took to a...