KL Rahul adulates Arshdeep Singh after his new ball spell demolishes the South African top-order during the first match of the T20I series.
Advertisement
An unprecedented spell with the new ball from Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar, followed by half-centuries off the bat of Suryakumar Yadav (50* off 33) and KL Rahul (51* off 56), made way for a cakewalk of a victory for team India, during the first T20I versus South Africa at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
Unlike majority of the Indian pitches, the one tonight in Thiruvananthapuram had enough assistance for the pacers and spinners alike, to make life difficult for the batters throughout the match duration.
En route the modest target of 107 runs, team India, akin the Proteas, were off to a poor start, having lost skipper Rohit Sharma (0 off 2) and Virat Kohli (3 off 9), with the scoreboard reading 17/2 after 6.1 Overs.
Suryakumar then joined alongside Rahul at the crease, and regardless the bite still on offer for the pacers, smashed a couple of Sixes off the first three balls he faced, to make the crowd finally stand up on their feet.
The duo stitched together an unbeaten 93-run stand off mere 63 deliveries, to see their team through by 8 wickets, and with 20 deliveries to spare.
KL Rahul adulates Arshdeep Singh
Earlier, the duo of Arshdeep Singh (4-0-32-3) and Deepak Chahar (4-0-24-2) shell-shocked the South African batting line-up, as they ate up five of their batters within 15 deliveries of the match, with the scorecard reading 9/5 at one stage.
Had it not been for Keshav Maharaj’s 35-ball 41 with the bat, South Africa would have not surpassed the 100-run mark.
Post winning the match, KL Rahul was all praises for Arshdeep Singh, as the latter was also fittingly awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ for his remarkable swing bowling spell.
The 30-year-old remarked that Arshdeep has only gotten better with each game, and his someone who has got a ‘big heart’. Having skippered him in the IPL while playing for the Punjab Kings, Rahul further stated that the left-arm pacer was the team’s death bowler despite Kagiso Rabada still in the playing XI, which speaks highly of the quality that he possesses.
“He is growing with each game, and with each outing, he gets better. I have seen him at close quarters in the IPL. He is not afraid of the big stage, bowling to big batters. He keeps growing. This season what he did for his franchise was phenomenal, He is carrying the confidence and doing the job for the team. You always want a left-arm seamer in your line-up,” remarked Rahul.
