'Gut instinct' to bowl a short ball to Mayers pays off for Arshdeep

In India's 68-run win over the West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh gave a reminder of the potential he has in international cricket. In a chase of 191, Kyle Mayers smacked a six and four on Arshdeep's first two balls of the day.

But on the very next ball, Arshdeep bowled a short ball outside off-stump, which took Mayers aback, clearly not expecting a change in length while walking down the pitch and managed to give a catch to mid-wicket. He would return in the 17th over to rattle Akeal Hosein's stumps with a lovely incoming yorker, giving a glimpse of his death-bowling skills.

"With them chasing 190, they would come hard (at us) from the start and go for the attack. We needed a wicket up front, he (Mayers) attacked from the start. At that time this was the option, he could hit a boundary off the bouncer. But at that time the gut instinct said, 'need to take this chance' and it paid off," said Arshdeep in post-match press conference.

The youngster also attributed his spell of 2/24 in the first T20I to role clarity from the Indian team management. "As a bowler it becomes easy when you know clearly what role you're going to play and when you're going to be bowling from the support staff and captain.

"I had plenty of clarity and this provided me with the confidence to execute the plans. It's good as Bhuvi was keeping things tight from the other end and was creating pressure, which benefited me a lot."

Arshdeep was in praise of finisher Dinesh Karthik's whirlwind cameo of 41 off just 19 balls towards the end of India's innings, which turned out to be a pivotal factor in India taking 1-0 lead in five-match series.

"The way DK played a great cameo towards the end was crucial. It gave a cushion for us, the bowlers. The wicket was sticky and the way the wicket was holding, I felt that 190 was a really good total. It was difficult for the batters if you used the cutters and the slower-ones very well. We bowled in good areas and were able to execute our plans as a bowling unit to do well."

Friday's match was Arshdeep's first game on the tour of Caribbean after picking 2/18 in his T20I debut against England at Southampton. After that match on July 7, he was side-lined by a right abdominal strain.

"It was a very great experience and happiness from it was doubled because the team ended up winning. I played the first match after so long and just want to keep working alongside the support staff on improving different aspects of my game and adding to my skill set. Really excited for the matches to come," concluded Arshdeep.

--IANS

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