NEW DELHI: India’s bowlers had a clear plan to stop Shai Hope’s impressive run against them, and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was delighted to see it work in the third T20I against the West Indies in Indore on Sunday.Hope had been in sensational form across the ODI and T20I series, scoring back-to-back centuries in the 50-over format before producing a half-century in the opening T20I and an unbeaten 102 in the second. But the West Indies captain managed just five runs in Indore, bowled by Arshdeep in the second over as India restricted the visitors to 209/7 while defending 223.India won by 14 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with Arshdeep finishing with three wickets, including the crucial dismissals of Hope, Sherfane Rutherford and Keemo Paul.“Before the match, we had planned how to keep things tight to him and when you execute that plan in the match, it feels good when you get the result. I am grateful to the coaches for working through the plan and they told me that I can use this in the match and that thing got executed,” Arshdeep said in a video posted on bcci.tv on Monday.
‘All six bowlers chipped in’
Arshdeep credited the entire bowling attack for maintaining pressure while defending a formidable total, pointing to the collective effort that helped India bounce back after West Indies chased down 250 in the previous match.“I bowled very well. Mayank kept the pressure from the other end and all the six bowlers, all chipped in and bowled very well. It feels good when you get a little pressure for executing plans. So, it’s good fun,” he said.Arshdeep also had a light-hearted moment when he apologised to Axar Patel for the mid-pitch mix-up that resulted in the all-rounder’s run-out.“I would like to apologise to Axar bhai. Sorry, Axar bhai. I got you run out,” he said.The pacer said he continues to work on his batting, too, as India look for useful contributions from the lower order.“I keep trying in batting. The results are rare. But today, it just connected well. As much as the coaches trust us, we have to do it in batting as well and get a few runs down the order. So it is important to work like this in batting,” he added.
Ian Bishop praises India’s bowling plans
Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop also credited India’s execution, highlighting their use of yorkers and wide lines, Arshdeep’s leadership of the attack and Naman Dhir’s support. He also pointed to the absence of dew as a factor that helped the bowlers.“First of all, congratulations to India. The West Indies found a little bit of range with the ball after about over number eight through Roston Chase, then Springer, then Motie, but those runs at the back end by Prince Yadav proved crucial. Then we saw the yorkers. Shreyas Iyer mentioned at the toss that he brought Prince Yadav back into the team for the first time in the series so they could get guys bowling those yorkers and wide lines, and those are critical plans.“Arshdeep is the leader of the attack, and he sussed things out quite quickly, with a little bit of help from Naman Dhir. A critical factor, obviously, was that there was no dew formation. All in all, it’s good to see the bowlers having a better day in a batsman-dominated series so far. The West Indies will look to do a few things better next time, but take nothing away from India; they deserved this win from a bowling perspective,” Bishop told JioStar.Arshdeep, meanwhile, said the relaxed atmosphere in the Indian dressing room and his willingness to learn continue to help him improve.“In the dressing room, the environment is very chill. There is no one who behaves as if they have played more or less matches. The atmosphere is very chill,” he said.“I keep trying to learn about something and get in a different skill set. There is always that willingness to learn and improve my game and I feel if there is a hunger to learn, then I will keep improving my game and I keep trying that,” he added.
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