Following India’s victory over Australia in the Super Eights ICC T20 World Cup clash, Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh and spinner Kuldeep Yadav shared insights on the team’s strategies. Arshdeep praised pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, saying he bowled “like a video game.”
Rohit Sharma’s explosive 92, combined with effective spells from Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav, as well as Axar Patel’s remarkable one-handed catch, secured a 24-run victory for India, earning them a spot in the semi-finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup.
In a video posted on the official Instagram handle of the Indian cricket team, Arshdeep asked Kuldeep about the challenges of bowling with and against the wind. Kuldeep responded, “It was difficult because automatically my ball comes in for the right-handed batter. Obviously, the righty was trying to target the left side. I was just reading the batsman and what he was expecting. As soon as I started the first over, I tried to put in a fuller ball, a flipper. I tried to put in a fuller ball because if he sweeps, there is a chance for us (for a wicket).”
Kuldeep continued, “Then I was throwing the wrong’un from there. So, he was confused that I was putting in two balls. I put in only two balls in the first over. Both of them were confused that I could put in a fuller or a wide wrong’un. So, firstly, this was the plan. Then, in the second over, obviously, the catch that Axar took was a really good catch. Maybe, from there, the game opened up for us.”
Arshdeep, who has taken 15 wickets in the tournament so far, commented on his effectiveness with the new ball. He credited Bumrah’s exceptional bowling for creating pressure on the batters, which in turn helped him take wickets. “I do not think there is anything difficult about that at this time (bowling with new ball). Because Jassi is bowling like a video game, with an economy rate of just two or three runs. Whatever pressure the batter feels, he takes it out on me. He plays high-risk shots, I get a lot of wickets through them,” Arshdeep said.
He added, “I will say that he gets a lot of credit. All the other bowlers are very big in the partnership. They stop runs from one end and get wickets from the other end. I guess as a bowling unit, everyone is clicking very well.”
Rohit’s 92 helped India post 205/5 on the board, and they restricted Australia to 181/7 in their 20 overs despite Travis Head’s aggressive 76 off 43 balls, featuring nine fours and four sixes. With Bangladesh’s loss to Afghanistan, Australia was eliminated from the tournament, managing only one win and suffering two losses in the Super Eights, including one to Afghanistan.
India will face England in the semifinals in Guyana on Thursday.
