After being taken to the cleaners in second T20I in Chandigarh, Arshdeep Singh bounced back brilliantly to script India’s seven-wicket victory over South Africa in third T20I in Dharamsala on Sunday (December 14).

The left-arm seamer returned with the figures of 2 for 13 in his four overs, helping the hosts restrict the Proteas to a paltry 117/10 in 20 overs. Reeza Hendricks (0) and Aiden Markram (61) were his victims.

After the game, Arshdeep explained how he managed to turn things around after a forgettable outing in the second T20I.

“When I walked onto the ground, everyone was telling me this is also your home ground. So the first thing I told them was, no, this is not my home ground - so that felt better. And after that, just sticking to the basics, doing the basics right, and trusting my skill set,” Arshdeep said while speaking at the post-match presentation.

“When you play at this level, there are some days when you won’t execute the things you want to do. It was one off day (last game), so it feels nice to do this (bowl well in this game). (On what he did right today) Nothing changed. I just pitched the ball in the right areas and tried to get as much help from the wicket. There was some help in the wicket, the conditions were cold as well, so there was enough swing and seam. I just tried to keep it simple, hit the right areas, and got the reward,” he added.

Arshdeep, who was adjudged the Player-of-the-Match, also addressed the confusion over a review of Hendricks.

“It was Surya bhai who wanted to get some suspense in there. The moment it hit the pad, I knew it was out. When I got the approval from Jitesh as well, we knew we were going for the review. He just wanted to wait, chat for a bit, and then take it,” he said.

Arshdeep also commented on Dewald Brevis’ review with a bit of humour. “As a bowler, you want to take every review possible (laughs). I felt it hit the pad twice, so that was the confusion. Next time, I’ll take care of that (smiles).”

In the end, Arshdeep Singh dedicated his Player-of-the-Match award to his 10-month-old niece.

“And one more thing. My niece is here; she is just 10 months old. I want to dedicate this award to Inayat,” he concluded.