Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh delivered a Player of the Match performance as India defeated the West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I at Holkar Stadium, Indore on Sunday (October 11).
Invited to bat first, India posted a massive total of 223 all out, led by a blistering 69 off 30 balls from Abhishek Sharma. The West Indies pushed hard in response but were restricted to 209/7, allowing the hosts to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Arshdeep bounced back from a difficult previous outing in Ranchi—where he went wicketless and conceded 45 runs. In Indore, he led the attack brilliantly with crucial figures of 3/44, castling the dangerous Shai Hope early on and dismantling Sherfane Rutherford's middle stump with a trademark pinpoint death-over yorker.
Speaking after the win, Arshdeep said the Indian bowlers had a clear plan to keep Hope in check after the West Indies skipper slammed a whirlwind century in the second T20I to help his team pull off a record 250-run chase.
"Before the match we had planned how to target Shai Hope, to keep things tight and execute that plan on the field; seeing the result feels great," said Arshdeep in a video shared by the BCCI on social media.
"A lot of credit goes to coaches for walking us through the plan and highlighting what we could apply in the match. It was executed well, supported by brilliant bowling overall.
"(Pacer) Mayank (Yadav) kept the pressure building from the other end and all six bowlers chipped in. It feels good when there is a bit of pressure on execution ... it is good fun," he added.
Arshdeep Singh also shared insight into the healthy relaxed dressing room atmosphere as players are willing to learn from each other.
"The atmosphere in the dressing room is completely relaxed and chilled ... it is not like someone who has played more matches or fewer matches gets treated differently, and a very relaxed environment is maintained.
"And I try to see what I can learn from any bowler who has a different skill-set and there is always that willingness to learn and improve my game. I feel that as long as there is that hunger to learn, I will keep enhancing and refining my game and that is my effort every time," he stated.
The lanky pacer, who contributed 11 runs with the bat, apologised to teammate Axar Patel following a mid-pitch mix-up that resulted in a costly run-out.
On the first delivery of the 19th over, Axar hit the ball toward the cover-point region. Arshdeep misjudged the opportunity and confidently ran for a non-existent single, crossing over and leaving Axar stranded at the non-striker’s end.
"If we talk about batting, then the first thing I would like to say is 'sorry to Axar (Patel) bhai ... I got you run out'. In batting, I keep trying but results are few and far between. Today, the ball got connected well and (went for a six).
"With the amount of trust the coaches show in us, we need to deliver in batting as well and score a few runs down the order. That is why working on batting is important," he remarked.
