The skipper told me that whatever has to happen will happen, the final of Arshdeep’s bowling is over
The left-arm seamer has been profligate at the death in T20Is for over a year and after giving away 37 runs in his first three overs on Sunday, no one would have thought he would be able to defend just 10 with the dangerous Matthew Wade on strike.
Bangalore, December 3: Arshdeep Singh felt that it was simply divine intervention and the unhinged faith of his skipper Suryakumar Yadav that enabled him to defend ten runs in the final of a thrilling fifth T20 International in which India edged Australia by just six runs.
The left-arm seamer has been profligate at the death in T20Is for over a year and after giving away 37 runs in his first three overs on Sunday, no one would have thought he would be able to defend just 10 with the dangerous Matthew Wade on strike.
“I gave away too many runs, but God gave me another chance and the support staff believed in me. To be honest, nothing went through my mind. Surya bhai told me that whatever has to happen, will happen,” said a beaming Arshdeep at the end of the match, after scoring the block gap deliveries and conceding just three runs.
During his own bowling, he said: “I have learned a lot of lessons, but I come back from the mistakes.”
Captain Surya felt that the young team ticked all the boxes in a comprehensive series win by 4-1 margin.
“It was a good series. The way the boys showed their skills was commendable. We wanted to be fearless, we wanted to enjoy being in the middle of it. I told them, “Do what’s right and just enjoy your game,” and they did the same. So happy with it.”
Surya admitted that if Washington Sundar had backed the two spinners, they would have won more easily as slow bowlers with pitch support.
“If he (Washington Sundar) would have been there, it would have been an extra. At Chinnaswamy, 200+ is easier to chase. 160-175 is a difficult story here. After 10 overs I told the boys we had a match.”.
Player of the match Axar Patel had no hesitation in admitting that it was nice to bowl on a track without dew to make things easy for the batters.
“Today was fun. The first four games there was dew. Today it was a tailor-made wicket for me. After a few games I was able to find my rhythm.”
Having already bowled alongside Ravi Bishnoi in a few Syed Mushtaq Ali matches for Gujarat, it became easier to operate together, the senior spinner said.
“We also played a few matches together for Gujarat. We complement each other, I hope this collaboration grows.”
Bishnoi, the ‘Player of the Series’, said he didn’t want to put the ball up as there was a chance of being hit.
“My plan is simple, stump to stump bowling works, just a short length works, setting it up can be hit. I wanted to be a typical leg-spinner by bringing the long-on forward.”
The challenge will be different on an away trip to South Africa, where he played the 2020 U19 World Cup.
“South Africa will throw different pitches, but I will try to attack there as well.”