India eye a 3-0 sweep against Afghanistan in the Chennai finale
India have already pocketed the series, but a win in the third ODI at Chennai on Saturday would complete a clean sweep of Afghanistan.
Jun 19, 2026
India have nothing left to win in the series and everything to gain from the habit. Two games up with one to play, Shubman Gill’s side travel to Chennai on Saturday for the third and final ODI against Afghanistan, where a victory at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium would round off a clean sweep before the team scatters for a busy stretch of white-ball cricket.
How India built the 2-0 lead
The opener in Dharamsala on June 13 was cut to 25 overs a side by rain, and India handled the reset comfortably. Afghanistan posted 194, debutant seamer Gurnoor Brar marking his first international with three wickets, and India chased the target down for the loss of three wickets with more than two overs to spare. Gill anchored the run chase with an unbeaten 84 and took the player-of-the-match award.
Lucknow, four days later, was a heavier beating over the full distance. India racked up 402 all out, built around a 224-run third-wicket stand between Gill and Ishan Kishan. The captain turned his good touch into a commanding 154, his ninth ODI hundred, while Kishan went after the bowling for a 79-ball 125. Arshdeep Singh and Brar again took three wickets each as Afghanistan were bowled out for 232, handing India a 170-run win and an unassailable lead.
A dead rubber with a few open questions
The series is decided, but the Chennai game is not without its threads. Gill has been the standout of the white-ball leg, and the captaincy sits easily on him after the runs in Dharamsala and Lucknow. Rohit Sharma is the one top-order name still waiting for a substantial score. He was run out for 16 in the opener and looked fluent for 48 in Lucknow before Rashid Khan found a way through him, so a longer stay in Chennai would not go unnoticed.
With the result already settled, India also have room to take a closer look at the fringes of the squad. Brar has already shown enough with the new ball to suggest he belongs, and the dead rubber gives the management a low-stakes window to hand opportunities around before the assignments that actually carry weight.
Afghanistan chase a consolation
Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team have been outplayed across both formats on this tour, but Chennai offers them a more familiar set of conditions. Chepauk has long rewarded spin, and an attack built around Rashid Khan will fancy its chances of dragging the game into the slow, gripping rhythm that Afghanistan thrive on. Avoiding a 3-0 scoreline, and giving their batting one settled outing against a strong India attack, would be a worthwhile way to close out a chastening trip.
India will start as heavy favourites again, but a clean sweep still has to be earned. The toss, the surface and the first hour at Chepauk will tell us plenty about whether Afghanistan can make the final game a contest.