There’s no secret there – Arshdeep Singh on maiden T20I fifer

Arshdeep Singh came up with a solid performance among a deluge of runs as he led the charge for the Indian bowling unit with figures of 5/51.

He got the big wickets of Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Daryll Mitchell, Mitchell Santner and Kyle Jamieson to wrap New Zealand up within just 225 runs in response to India’s 271.

Talking in an interview after the game, Arshdeep opened up on his composure while highlighting the conditions in the center.

He also revealed the message from SKY after the powerplay as Finn Allen was going mighty strong during his stay in the center.

Shedding light about his spell, Arshdeep said, “Yep, it was a great learning for me as well - to stay in the game and not think about what happened in the past or in the first spell. That was the message from the coaching staff. I just wanted to stay in the present and do what was right in front of me.”

Highlighting his composure in the face of pressure, Arshdeep added, “It’s just for the camera that I look calm - I’m definitely feeling the pressure as well. Lately, I’ve been going for quite a few runs, so I’m just trying to work that out with Morne and give my best for the team. I enjoyed some of the shots Finn played. But yes, I guess we could have planned a little better according to the wicket. Chasing 250-plus, they were always going to come hard. We could have executed a bit better, but the plan was to stay in the present and just enjoy it.”

Revealing SKY’s message in the post-powerplay huddle, Arshdeep said, “There’s no secret there. The talk was about body language - about giving it our all and giving ourselves the best chance to restrict them to around 180 or 190. They played really well and scored a lot of runs, but we’re happy to be on the winning side.”

He concluded by talking about India’s headspace ahead of the T20 World Cup, stating, “Yes, pretty happy with everyone performing well individually. But a perfect team game hasn’t come yet - we haven’t clicked in all departments at the same time. That’s a good sign too, because hopefully in the World Cup, all three phases of the game can come together and we can have a perfect game.”