In the opening T20I match between India and New Zealand in Ranchi on Friday, Arshdeep Singh struggled again, conceding 27 runs in the final over. During the final over of the New Zealand innings, Arshdeep committed a no-ball, and also gave up three sixes and a four, ultimately allowing the opposition to reach a score of 176/6. This could have been a crucial turning point in the game, as India fell short of the target by 21 runs.
Arshdeep Singh’s repeated no-ball violations are becoming a major problem for the Indian national cricket team. The left-arm fast bowler’s errors in this area are causing significant difficulties for India in tight matches, particularly in T20Is where there is little room for error. On Friday at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi, Arshdeep was again at fault, as he bowled an over that cost 27 runs.
Arshdeep had a difficult end to his spell, finishing with 1/51. Despite being established as India’s go-to death bowler after Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep did not perform well in this particular match. The over began with a no-ball for overstepping, which was hit for a six by Daryl Mitchell. Mitchell then hit the next two balls over the ropes, resulting in a hat-trick of sixes, and followed it up with a boundary off the legitimate third ball of the over. This caused a range of emotions for both Arshdeep and Hardik Pandya, and the India captain could be seen with various expressions on his face throughout the over.
After the third ball, Hardik approached Arshdeep and engaged in an animated conversation with the bowler. The strategy appeared to work, as the bowler delivered a dot ball and a couple of doubles in the final over. However, the damage had already been done and instead of keeping New Zealand’s total under 160, the BlackCaps ended up with a strong score.
Recently, a statistic on Twitter that Arshdeep has bowled the most no-balls out of any bowler who has played a minimum number of matches, gained popularity. This was after Arshdeep had committed a hat-trick of no-balls against Sri Lanka in the second T20I earlier this month. Having missed the first match due to illness, Arshdeep seemed to be out of form and lacking match practice. He appeared to have lost control of his line, length, and rhythm entirely.