In India’s 68-run win over the West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium, left-arm pacer Arsdeep Singh served as a reminder of his prowess in international cricket. Chasing 191, Kyle Meyers hit Arsdeep for a six and a four off his first two balls of the day.
But on the very next ball, Arsdeep bowled a short ball outside the off-stump, which caught Mears by surprise, clearly not expecting the change in length as he walked down the pitch and was caught at midwicket. He would return in the 17th over with a beautiful oncoming yorker to rattle Akil Hussain’s stumps, giving a glimpse of his death bowling prowess.
“Chasing 190 with them, they would come hard (on us) from the start and go for the attack. We needed the wicket in front, he (Mears) attacked from the start. That was the option then, he Could have hit a boundary off the bouncer. But then the gut instinct said, ‘need to take this chance’ and it paid off,” Arshad said at the post-match press conference.
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The youngster also attributed his spell of 2/24 in the first T20I to the role clarification from the Indian team management.
“As a bowler it’s easier when you know clearly what role you’re going to play and when you’re going to bowl from the support staff and the captain. I had a lot of clarity and that helped me on the plans. Gave me the confidence to execute. It’s good because Bhuvi was making things tight at the other end and creating pressure, which helped me a lot,” said the fast bowler.
Arsdeep was all praise for Dinesh Karthik’s storming cameo towards the end of India’s innings, finishing off 41 off just 19 balls, which proved to be a key factor in India taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
“The way DK played a great cameo towards the end was very important. He gave us, the bowlers, a cushion. The wicket was tight and the way the wicket was held, I thought 190 was really good. Total. It was tough for the batsmen if you used the cutter and the slower one well. We bowled in good areas and were able to execute our plans as a bowling unit to put up a good performance. Arsdeep added.
Friday’s match was Arsdeep’s first game on the Caribbean tour after taking 2/18 on his T20I debut against England in Southampton. After that match on July 7, he was sidelined with right abdominal pain.
“It was a great experience and it doubled the joy because the team won. I played my first match after a long time and just wanted to work with the support staff to improve different aspects of my game and increase my skill set. Really excited for the upcoming matches,” Arsdeep concluded.
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