The pre-match ceremony followed a recently reiterated government protocol on the National Song.
Vande Mataram was played before Jana Gana Mana in Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium during the pre-match ceremony of the first T20I between India and Afghanistan on Sunday (September 13).
This marked a historic milestone, as it was the first time India's National Song was officially played before the National Anthem at an international sporting event.
The ceremony strictly followed a series of structural updates implemented by the central government earlier this year.
In February 2026, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued comprehensive guidelines standardizing the protocol for the National Song. The directive explicitly mandates that whenever both are performed together at official events, Vande Mataram must precede Jana Gana Mana.
The updated rules also state that all six stanzas of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s original composition must be played. This official rendition runs for 3 minutes and 10 seconds (190 seconds).
Coming to the match, India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl. In a bold move, the team management dropped Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was the Player-of-the-Series in the previous T20I assignment against Zimbabwe. Sanju Samson made his way back into the playing XI and will open the batting with Abhishek Sharma.
At the time of writing, India had reduced Afghanistan to 58/5 after 11 overs. Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy picked up a wicket each, while the other dismissal came through a run-out.