Twenty-seven deliveries into the final T20I, there was no indication of the run-fest and the drama to follow. In the blink of an eye, India’s top order had been systematically dismantled by Farid Ahmad Malik, the left-arm seamer playing his first match of the series.

Malik picked up the sticks of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson (the last two for first-ball ducks). In the interim, Azmatullah Omarzai accounted for Shivam Dube as Afghanistan had India, who batted by choice, gasping at 22 for four at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday night.