We had planned how to keep things tight to Hope: Arshdeep

Indore: India’s left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh said he felt really good over the successful execution of tactics to remove West Indies captain Shai Hope early in the third T20I against the West Indies, adding that getting rid of a quality batter of his calibre required meticulous preparation and inputs from the coaching staff

At the Holkar Stadium on Sunday night, Arshdeep made the early breakthrough by castling the in-form Shai Hope, who went for a wild slog, in the second over. The contest stayed alive till the dangerous Sherfane Rutherford was at the crease.

But Arshdeep castled him, and took out Keemo Paul as well to ensure the contest ended in India’s favour, as they won by 14 runs and grabbed a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

“Before the match, we had planned how to keep things tight to him and when you execute that plan in the match, it feels good when you get the result. I am grateful to the coaches for working through the plan and they told me that I can use this in the match and that thing got executed,” Arshdeep said in a video posted on bcci.tv. on Monday.

He also credited the entire bowling attack for applying sustained pressure while defending a big total of 223. “I bowled very well. Mayank kept the pressure from the other end and all the six bowlers, all chipped in and bowled very well. It feels good when you get a little pressure for executing plans. So, it's good fun.”

Arshdeep, who also hit a useful boundary with the bat, offered a light-hearted apology to teammate Axar Patel after a mid-pitch mix-up led to the left-arm spin bowling all-rounder's run-out. “I would like to apologize to Axar bhai. Sorry, Axar bhai. I got you run out.”

Revealing about his personal drive to contribute with the bat, Arshdeep said, “I keep trying in batting. The results are rare. But today, it just connected well. As much as the coaches trust us, we have to do it in batting as well and get a few runs down the order. So it is important to work like this in batting.”

Arshdeep also attributed his steady evolution at the international level to the welcoming culture inside the Indian team and the desire to improve his skillsets. “In the dressing room, the environment is very chill. There is no one who behaves as if they have played more or less matches. The atmosphere is very chill.”

“I keep trying to learn about something and get in a different skill set. There is always that willingness to learn and improve my game and I feel if there is a hunger to learn, then I will keep improving my game and I keep trying that,” he concluded.

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