Ibrahim Zadran looks for answers from his top order as Afghanistan close out Delhi

Afghanistan play the last match of their India series in Delhi on Thursday with the shape of their batting order, not the result, the question Ibrahim Zadran still wants answered

The third and final T20I of the Afghanistan tour of India starts at 7.30pm at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with India already 2-0 up and the series gone.

For Ibrahim Zadran, in his first assignment as Afghanistan's full-time T20I captain, the fortnight has exposed one problem more clearly than any other: his side's best batting keeps arriving after the match has been decided.

"We thought about the things that can help improve that 150-160 [total] to 200-plus. We need to bring that intent," Zadran said of where his team has fallen short. "As soon as we improve in that area, I'm pretty sure we will challenge the biggest team."

A top order that arrives too late

Afghanistan have batted first in both matches in Delhi and spent both of them playing catch-up from inside the powerplay.

Their most productive batting has come from Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, none of whom bats inside the top five.

Moving that experience higher is the one change that costs Zadran nothing in a match his side can no longer win the series with.

The captain has also pointed to how little cricket his team has played. "But, this is the second game we have had in this year. We didn't get any lots of games," he said, with the T20 World Cup seven months behind them.

Zadran's first series in charge

The Afghanistan Cricket Board named Zadran full-time T20I captain when it announced this squad on 24 August, and the three matches in Delhi are his first assignment in the job.

The board treated the series as a landmark of its own. "It is a great pride that Afghanistan is hosting a major cricketing nation for the first time," chief executive Naseeb Khan said when the squad was named.

Gulbadin Naib was recalled to add middle-order depth, and the uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Noor Rahman came in as second gloveman after strong domestic and Shpageeza Cricket League form.

Naveen-ul-Haq is fit and still waiting

Naveen-ul-Haq is in an Afghanistan squad for the first time in two years after a stress fracture in his right shoulder, and he has not been picked in either match so far.

The fast bowler had two operations in England, the second a labrum repair, and missed both the West Indies T20Is and the 2026 T20 World Cup.

"For the first six weeks of rehab in the UK, I had to sit while sleeping," he told the ICC of the recovery. "It is lonely. It's a very tough time for a person."

Watching the World Cup was harder still. "I had the feeling that if I was there for the team, maybe I could have done something different in the death overs," he said.

With Afghanistan's spinners unable to trouble India's batters so far, an extra seamer is among the changes a dead rubber invites.

Rashid Khan's duels at the top

Rashid has dismissed Abhishek Sharma twice in six T20 innings against him, though the left-hander has scored at a strike rate of 237.77 in those meetings.

The leg-spinner's record against Shreyas Iyer is more comfortable, with three dismissals and a strike rate of only 120 for the India captain.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, meanwhile, strikes at 37.50 against Jasprit Bumrah and 114.28 against Arshdeep Singh, the two bowlers who have dismissed him in this series.

India in no mood to stand still

Iyer has said India will spend the last night of the series on the players who have not had one. "We want all of them to get used to the wicket and the conditions and also get some practice," he said.

"So it would be a nice game to give opportunities to the players, especially who have been sitting out, and also change a little bit in the combination as well," the India captain added.

Varun Chakaravarthy is India's one absentee of note, ruled out of the series with a side strain before the second match.

Afghanistan have met India eleven times in T20Is for ten defeats and a no-result, and Thursday is Zadran's last chance on this tour to see his order fire in the right sequence.

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