Arshdeep Singh took joint-highest wickets (17) in T20 World Cup 2024 for India. What made Arshdeep Singh clicked this tournament?
The world is going ‘gaga’ over Jasprit Bumrah’s performance in the T20 World Cup 2024. Bumrah has been the go-to man for captain Rohit Sharma in times of distress; and every time, the thinking bowler has delivered. However, his new-ball partner Arshdeep Singh has made an equally telling impact, emerging the joint-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets along with Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi.
But, Arshdeep’s performance has been somewhat overshadowed by the brilliance of Bumrah. Nevertheless, Arshdeep, the unsung warrior, can hold his head high for making India proud and forming such a lethal new-ball pair with Bumrah.
Consistency and basics: Keys for Arshdeep
Arshdeep has been a consistent bowler throughout the competition. He has opened the bowling for India along with Mohammed Siraj, while Bumrah came in as the third pacer during the USA leg of the tournament. In the West Indies leg, Arshdeep bowled well in tandem with Bumrah as the new-ball bowlers. If Bumrah was hard to score off, Arshdeep didn’t make it easy either, with the pair creating enough pressure on the opponents to lose their wickets in the powerplay.
Arshdeep was bang on with his line and length, making the maximum use of the conditions on offer. He swung the ball both ways, keeping the batters guessing which way the ball will move away. In the game against USA, Arshdeep used this skill to telling effect, taking two wickets in the first over itself. He followed it up with two more wickets to end up with 4 for 9. His clever use of change in pace helped him outfox the batters.
Read More: T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma conjured magic, sometimes with bat & sometimes with captaincy
An effective left-arm pace option
Being a left-handed bowler, it also helped him bowl in angles to right-handers, helping him create more opportunities to take wickets. His dismissal of Aiden Markram in the final was a result of the angle he created with his delivery as the South Africa captain looked to slash but ended up edging it behind.
Apart from his accurate bowling with the new ball, Arshdeep also bowled well at the death, giving no room for the batters to free their arm and score runs freely. He was also called into bowl in the middle-overs and he delivered accordingly.
In the final, he bowled a tidy 19th over, relying on tight line and length to concede just four runs. Most importantly, he bowled four balls to Keshav Maharaj, giving away just a single, keeping David Miller frustrated at the other end. Eventually, the miserly 19th over gave 16 runs to defend in the last over which resulted enough for Hardik Pandya to win the trophy.
A visible growth in mentality
However, there were some instances when Arshdeep Singh was taken for runs. But it is to the credit of the pacer who came back strongly every time to pick up wickets after the initial hammering. In the clash against Australia, Mitchell Marsh went after him, but Arshdeep came back to take two wickets at the death to dent Australia’s run-chase.
It speaks a lot about Arshdeep’s growing maturity as a bowler. He understands that he might go for runs but can always come back strongly to peg back the opponents.
Overall, this was a career-defining tournament for Arshdeep as he grew in confidence and stature during the competition, standing out as a wicket-taking bowler. He and Bumrah complemented each other brilliantly, bowling well in tandem to give no respite to the opposition batters to play freely.
The way forward for Arshdeep is to add more pace to his bowling which can add another dimension to his game. Bowling at good pace and swinging both ways can make him an extremely dangerous bowler who can take wickets upfront. Extra pace will complement his perfect line and length at the death to contain the opposition. With age on his side, Arshdeep can serve Indian cricket for a long while. He can undoubtedly add more depth to the pace bowling unit.
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