WI v IND: Needed one batter to stay till the end, says Arshdeep Singh

TAROUBA: India’s left-arm fast-bowler Arshdeep Singh admitted that the side needed someone to bat till the very end, something which would have saved the visitors from losing the T20I series opener to West Indies at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium.

Chasing a target of 150, India was restricted to 145 for nine, after needing 37 off 29 runs at one point. Despite the equation coming down to ten runs off the last over, India couldn’t get the required runs to be now 0-1 behind in the five-game series. India will now play the second T20I against West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday.

“We will review the match (on where we could have done better). Like, what we could have done better in the first innings. Where we could have kept things tight with the ball and as a batting unit in the second innings where did we miss the finishing part? I guess we needed one batter to stay till the end because, in their last two overs, five fielders were inside the 30-yard circle,” said Arshdeep in the post-match press conference.

In the 19th over of India’s chase, Arshdeep struck two fours before being run out for 12, but could not get India over the line on a slow pitch which wasn’t easy to bat on. “Any player who is in that kind of situation does believe that he can win the match for the team.” “When you are playing for your country, you always get that extra push that yes, you have to win the match for your team. Me, Kuldeep, Chahal were discussing the options available so as to amass runs, but we fell a little bit short in the end,” he added.

Asked if India’s batting running only till number seven and tail starting from number eight was a cause of concern, Arshdeep refuted those suggestions. “Not really. This kind of thing always comes after the end of the match. The playing eleven we fielded, we were confident that we would win the match.” “We always back our playing eleven whether it has six bowlers or nine. It doesn’t matter at all as we always back the eleven players who have been fielded to win the match for the team.” In the defeat, India had a bright spot in young batter Tilak Varma’s superb debut. After taking two superb catches, Varma was elegant in batting in international cricket for the first time, top-scoring with a 22-ball 39, laced with two fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 177.27.

“I can’t say it was the turning point. It is his style of playing. He plays a lot of attacking shots and in those, he will give chances. But as we have seen, he is massively talented and he did so well on his debut.” “When he was immensely under pressure and not to forget we were chasing, he played a few beautiful shots. I think he should always back his game and in the future, he will help the team win a lot of matches,” added Arshdeep.

The left-arm pacer, who took 2-31 in his four overs while conceding four wides in the 19th over, feels one has to maintain consistency and keep chances of making mistakes less in international cricket.

“IPL is already a high level of playing the game. But is the skill which keeps you in good stead in international cricket and also, you have to maintain consistency here as chances of making mistakes are really less and you get punished if you are on that side. It is very important to be consistent at the international level and give your best irrespective of the teams playing in front of you.”