Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar made South African batters dance to their tunes on Wednesday (September 28) when India clinched a facile eight-wicket victory in the first T20I against South Africa.
It was Arshdeep (3/32) and Chahar (2/24), who basically clinched the issue for India within first 15 deliveries of the start after skipper Rohit Sharma called it right at the toss.
A target of 107 on a pitch with underlying moisture and more than waist high bounce at times was a struggle before Suryakumar (50 not out in 33 balls) released the pressure created by KL Rahul (51 not out, 56 balls) as India won the game in 16.4 overs to go 1-0 up in three-match series.
Arshdeep, who missed the T20I series against Australia, was adjudged the Man of the Match for his wizardry with the ball.
Speaking after the match, Arshdeep said he got a lot of help from the surface, while also thanking fellow pacer Deepak Chahar for setting the tone.
"I had been thinking about the Man of the Match speech and was excited. There was a lot of help from the surface, and DC (Deepak Chahar) bhai set the tone and I just wanted to execute the plans," said Arshdeep.
The left-arm pacer said he loved the dismissal of David Miller, with a brilliant in-swinger that left the South African baffled.
"Loved the wicket of David Miller, he was expecting the outswinger, but I got that to swing in. So that was great," Arshdeep added.
After missing out on the T20I series against Australia to undergo conditioning-related work at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is back in the playing eleven for the first T20I against South Africa at Thiruvananthapuram.
Arshdeep's press conference
“It felt really good getting those wickets early. It is always a great feeling. The plan was really simple. The ball was swinging and I had to pitch it at the right places,” said Arshdeep in a post-match press conference.
On how his team is looking to adapt to Australian conditions, he said, “The main motive of the team is adapt as per conditions and situations, whatever the demands of the team are. When we will go there (to Australia), we will see how pitches work, the conditions and the dimensions of the ground. We will adapt really well, looking forward to doing well there.”
Arshdeep, who has picked 14 wickets in 11 T20Is, averaging 20.14 and at an economy rate of 7.38, has been impressive with his ability to land yorkers at will and show calmness in pressure situations of the death overs.
India will next meet South Africa on October 2 for the second T20I as the visitors will look to bounce back in order to keep the three-match series alive.
