Dharamshala, 15 December (H.S.): India’s left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh attributed his brilliant bowling performance against South Africa in the third T20 International at Dharamshala to sticking to the basics and exploiting the helpful conditions perfectly.

At the scenic HPCA Stadium, Arshdeep produced a clinical spell, conceding just 13 runs and taking two important wickets in his four overs. His disciplined bowling set the tone for India’s seven-wicket victory, earning him the Player of the Match award.

Speaking after the game, Arshdeep said, “Nothing really changed. I just focused on bowling the right length and letting the pitch do the rest. The cold weather offered both swing and seam movement, so I kept things simple — and it paid off.”

Reflecting on his comeback after the previous game in New Chandigarh, the young pacer added, “When I stepped onto the field, people said this is your home ground. I told them it’s not! I just trusted my basics. At this level, you can have a bad day sometimes, but it feels good to bounce back with a strong performance.”

Arshdeep also opened up about the DRS decisions during the match. Regarding the review against Reeza Hendricks, he revealed, “I knew he was out the moment it struck his pad. Jitesh agreed too. Surya bhai (Suryakumar Yadav) just waited a bit — probably to build some suspense.”

Smiling about the missed review against Dewald Brevis, he remarked, “Every bowler wants to take a review! I thought the ball hit the pad twice, which created confusion. I’ll be more alert next time.”

Meanwhile, spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who bowled economically to take two wickets, became the second-fastest Indian to reach 50 wickets in men’s T20 internationals.Varun admitted the cold conditions were challenging but credited the team’s preparation.

“I’ve never played in weather this cold. It was tough, but our preparation was solid,” he said.Reflecting on the team’s improvement after the defeat in New Chandigarh, the mystery spinner shared, “We had a detailed bowling meeting where we spoke openly about our mistakes. We identified the right approach and worked on it — and the results showed tonight.”

Commenting on his game plan, Varun said, “The ball was skidding more today, so instead of trying to extract more turn, I relied on my strengths. As long as I’m taking wickets for India, I’ll keep feeling great.”

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar