Saturday, the Punjab Kings celebrated pacer Arshdeep Singh’s death-over exploits, which helped secure a dramatic victory over Indian Premier League (IPL) powerhouses Mumbai Indians. Arshdeep Singh stated that a shorter run-up has rectified his propensity to bowl no-balls.
The left-arm seamer’s ability to defy duress and deliver yorkers at will in the tense final overs of a Twenty20 match has made him an asset for the national team.
In January, when India played Sri Lanka, the 24-year-old bowler became the first bowler in T20 history to allow five no-balls.
In the subsequent home series against New Zealand, the issue persisted, but Arshdeep returned to form against Mumbai.
Put into bat, Punjab tallied up 214-8. However, Cameron Green (67) and Rohit Sharma (44) led Mumbai’s vigorous response, and Suryakumar Yadav struck 57 off 26 deliveries.
Mumbai required 40 runs from the final three overs while holding seven wickets. In the 18th over, when he conceded nine runs, Arshdeep ended Suryakumar’s batting massacre.
In the final over, Mumbai had to score 16 runs. Even more remarkable was Arshdeep, who conceded only two runs and broke the middle stumps of Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera with consecutive deliveries.
Sam Curran, captain of Punjab, and Rohit Sharma, captain of Mumbai and India, both praised his performance, while cricketer-turned-commentator Danny Morrison pondered how Arshdeep managed to remain so calm despite the pandemonium surrounding him.
