Arshdeep Singh Archives - Lokmarg

Wasn’t Just Bowling, He Was Breaking Wickets: Parthiv On Arshdeep

By LokMarg 23rd April 2023

Punjab Kings held their nerves to ward off a spirited challenge from the Mumbai Indians to win match no. 31 of the IPL 2023 by 13 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

Chasing a stiff 215 for victory, MI were restricted to 201/6 at the end of their 20 overs, thanks largely to a brilliant performance by paceman Arshdeep Singh in the last over, where he gave away only two runs and also claimed a couple of wickets. Arshdeep emerged as the best of the PBKS bowlers returning with figures of 4-0-29-4.
PBKS now have eight points from seven games and lie fifth in the points table, while MI are in seventh place with six points after three wins and an equal number of defeats.

Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel was left extremely pleased with Arshdeep’s performance, saying on JioCinema: “Executing at the end is very important. He started off well, picking up Ishan Kishan’s wicket early off a catch. The game changed when he got Suryakumar Yadav out. He wasn’t just bowling at the wickets, he was breaking them. His yorkers were plentiful and they were also accurate. We saw two stumps break and all the spare stumps at the Wankhede were brought to the game. Arshdeep won them the match because they were giving away a lot of runs at that time. So, to bowl under pressure and see the yorkers we saw, he’s backing his skills and doing it really well.”

Former India Test captain Anil Kumble discussed the spell-binding 20th over on JioCinema. “He’s done that for Punjab before. He’s taken that role over the last few years, he was incredible in terms of coming in and bowling the tough overs. Today, it was tougher because they had to defend 15 runs and Tim David, who’s known to hit massive sixes, was on strike. But good for him and Punjab that he could have Tim David on the non-striker’s end for most of those balls. A fantastic effort to finish things off. It’s not easy to consistently nail those Yorkers and Tilak Varma is in the form of his life. To get him out, I know he was batting on just his fourth or fifth ball, but with a yorker, getting him out was fantastic.”

Kumble also praised Sam Curran for his terrific 55 in Punjab Kings’ innings. “In those last five overs is where I think Mumbai lost the game. Today, they gave away 96 and it’s thanks to Sam Curran, who certainly took the game away from Mumbai and that was the difference, those 15 runs at the end was the difference.” (ANI)

Kohli Helps India Beat Pak In A Cracker Of T20 World Cup Match

By LokMarg 23rd October 2022

An explosive half-century by star batter Virat Kohli and a century stand with Hardik Pandya helped India defeat Pakistan by four wickets in their Group 2, Super 12 match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.

With this win, India is at top of Group 2 with two points.

Chasing 160, India got off to a terrible start as opener KL Rahul was sent back to the pavilion by the pacer Naseem Shah for just four of eight balls. The opener disappointed in a crucial match once again, with an inside edge landing straight into the stumps. India was 7/1 at this point.

India received a second jolt when captain Rohit nicked one straight into the slips to Iftikhar Ahmed. The skipper lost his wicket for just 4 off 7 balls to pacer Haris Rauf. India was two down at 10 runs in 3.2 overs.

Eyes were on Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli once again to stitch another partnership. Suryakumar started with a silky straight drive and took three on the very next ball.

Suryakumar was looking really good, but Rauf got the big fish after he nicked one to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan. India endured another huge blow as Suryakumar was back in the pavilion for just 15 off 10 balls. India was 26/3 in 5.3 overs.

Axar Patel was the next batter on the crease. At end of the powerplay in six overs, India was 31/3, with Virat (5) and Axar (2) at the crease. Patel also walked back after an unfortunate run-out for just 2. India had sunk to 31/4. Patel’s dismissal though involved Rizwan fumbling the runout and not hitting the stumps with the ball fully, but he got away with it.

Pandya and Kohli took India safe halfway through their innings, though singles continued without any boundaries. India was at 45/4 in 10 overs, with Virat (12) and Pandya (7) at the crease.

India reached the 50-run mark in 10.3 overs. Pandya hit Mohammad Nawaz for a huge six at the start of the 12th over, hitting the first six of the innings. Nawaz was hit for two more sixes, including a straight hit by Virat, giving India a valuable over which gave them 20 runs.

The duo brought up their 50-run stand in 40 balls.

At the end of 15 overs, India touched the 100-run mark. India was at 100/4, with Virat (42) and Hardik (32) at the crease. Thanks to these two, Men in Blue made a solid recovery, getting 55 runs in the last five overs.

Rauf swung some momentum to Pakistan’s side with an economical 16th over, conceding six. India needed 54 off 24 balls. Six runs came from the next over, reducing the equation to 48 off 18 balls.

Virat reached his half-century in 43 balls. The star batter swung the tides in favor of India once again, helping India get 17 more runs. Men in Blue needed 31 off 12 balls.

After Rauf dominated the 19th over, Virat swung things into India’s favor with two sixes in two balls. India needed 16 in the final over.

This pair of beloved players had to strike big in the last over, having scored 113 off 77 balls in their 77 balls. Pandya departed to Nawaz’s first ball, scoring 40 off 37 balls. India needed 16 off 5 balls and the ‘Finisher’ Dinesh Karthik was at the crease with Kohli. However, he was also stumped with two runs left and one ball to go.

Ashwin finished the match with a single, helping India clinch a four-wicket win. India finished at 160/6, with Kohli scoring an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls, with six fours and four sixes, and Ashwin unbeaten at 1.

Rauf (2/36) and Nawaz (2/42) were the picks of the bowlers for Pakistan. Naseem took a wicket too.

Early, fiery and top bowling spells by Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh helped India restrict arch-rivals Pakistan to 159/8 in the high-voltage clash of the Super 12 stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on Sunday.

For India, Arshdeep Singh bagged three wickets Hardik Pandya returned with a stunning figure of 3-30.

Shan Masood top-scored for Pakistan with 52 not out while Iftikhar Ahmed played a crucial knock of 51 runs.

Opted to bowl first, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s fiery bowling gave an excellent start to India as he restricted Pakistan batters from scoring runs. In the second over of the innings, Pakistan suffered a huge blow as their star batter Babar Azam was sent packing for a first-ball duck by Arshdeep Singh without scoring a run.

New batter Shan Masood then came out to bat. In the fourth over of the innings, Arshdeep struck again as he dismissed Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan for 4 runs off 12 deliveries, leaving Men in Green tottering at 15-2. Arshdeep Singh the left-arm pacer removed both the Pakistani openers inside the powerplay to provide India with the upper hand in the match.

Iftikhar Ahmed then came out to bat. Iftikhar and Masood both opened their hands and slammed boundaries at regular intervals. After the powerplay, Pakistan’s score read 32-2.

Despite being under pressure the duo of Iftikhar and Masood took their team’s total beyond the 50-run mark in the 9th over of the game. After 10 overs of the game, Pakistan’s score read 60/2.

Iftikhar shifted gears and slammed back-to-back two huge sixes, hammering Axar Patel for 21 runs in the 12th over of the innings. While slamming the Indian bowlers all around the ground Iftikhar brought up his half-century in 32 deliveries.

Mohammed Shami was brought back into the attack and he removed dangerman Iftikhar for 51 off 34. Pakistan’s 76-run stand for the third wicket was finally broken.

Shadab Khan then came to the crease but the batter could not do much as he was sent back to the pavilion by Hardik Pandya after scoring 5 runs off 6 balls in the 14th over. In the same over Pandya struck again as he dismissed the new batter, Haider Ali, for 2 runs, the Pakistani batter was caught out by Suryakumar Yadav.

Mohammad Nawaz welcomed Pandya’s spell with a stunning four, however, his stint was cut short after scoring just 9 runs in 6 deliveries. At this point, Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Arshdeep then delivered a stunning delivery to remove Asif Ali who was caught behind the wicket by Dinesh Karthik.

While hammering Indian bowlers all around the ground Shan Masood brought up his third T20I fifty in 40 balls. In the penultimate over of the innings, Shaheen Afridi slammed one four and one six on the delivery of Arshdeep.

In the last over, Bhuvneshwar sent Afridi packing after scoring 16 runs in 8 deliveries. New batter Haris Rauf then came to bat and he slammed a huge six to guide his team to a competitive total of 159/8 in 20 overs.

Brief score: Pakistan 159/8 (Shan Masood 52, Iftikhar Ahmed 51; Hardik Pandya 3-30) vs India: 160/6 (Virat Kohli 82, Hardik Pandya 40, Haris Rauf 2/36). (ANI)

India Beat South Africa In the 2nd T20I To Clinch Series

By LokMarg 2nd October 2022

David Miller’s explosive ton went in vain as Indian bowlers held their nerve to clinch the T20I series 2-0 after a 16-run victory in the second T20I against South Africa at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Sunday.

With the win, Team India took an unassailable lead of 2-0 over South Africa. For South Africa, Miller slammed an unbeaten 106 in 47 balls, while Quinton de Kock played a knock of not out 69 off 48. For India, Arshdeep Singh bagged two wickets while Axar Patel settled for one wicket.

Defending the target of 238, India’s Arshdeep Singh dented South Africa’s chase by bagging the wickets of Temba Bavuma and Rilee Rossouw in one over.

Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock then played some careful shots while taking singles to ease some pressure from the team. Axar Patel then gave Proteas a big blow as he dismissed well-set batter Markram for 33 off 19 balls. South Africa lost important three wickets in under eight overs.

Markram’s wicket invited David Miller to the crease. Miller with de Kock found quick boundaries while taking singles at regular intervals. After 10 over of the match, South Africa’s score read 70-3.

With huge pressure on their head, Miller shifted gears and slammed Ravichandran Ashwin for back-to-back two sixes and gathered 19 runs alone in the 12th over of the innings.

While smashing Indian bowlers all around the ground, Miller brought up his half-century in 25 balls with a huge six off Arshdeep. De Kock also shifted gears and slammed back-to-back two sixes in Axar’s over and piled up 18 runs.

After 15 overs South Africa needed 95 runs in 30 balls. In the 16th over of the match, Miller slammed Harshal for two successive fours and gathered 13 runs.

Quinton De Kock also brought up his half-century in 39 balls. It was a hard-fought innings by Quinton as he anchored a much-needed great partnership between him and Miller.

De Kock started the 18th over of the match with a stunning six, however, the latter could not do much as Harshal delivered the spell with great line and length and restricted Proteas batters to score runs in his over.

In the 19th over of the innings, the duo of De Kock and Miller hammered Arshdeep for 26 runs by slamming big shots. In the last over of the match, Miller brought up his blistering century in 46 balls. On the last ball of the match, Miller slammed a huge six but failed to guide his team home by 16 runs in the massive run chase.

The explosive Proteas duo failed to take their team home in the massive run chase and handed India a T20I series win.

Earlier put to bat first, India posted a daunting total of 237/3 with the help of stunning half-centuries from Suraykumar Yadav and KL Rahul. Suraykumar slammed 61 runs in 22 balls, while Rahul played a knock of 57 off 28. Virat Kohli looked in red-hot form as he slammed unbeaten 49 runs off 28 balls.

KL Rahul picked up from where he left off in the last game and caressed a superbly timed boundary on the very first ball of the innings off Kagiso Rabada, opening the Indian scoreboard with four runs.

The Indian captain helped himself with two boundaries in the next over bowled by Wayne Parnell as the Indian innings started to gain momentum. Sharma danced down the track to pacer Lungi Ngidi in the next over to smash the first six of the innings.

Parnell came back for his second over of the innings but was taken to the cleaners by the Indian openers as both the batsmen combined to smash six and two boundaries of the over to accumulate 15 runs from the over.

The Indian duo looked in no mood to relax and made full use of the fielding restrictions, hitting boundaries every now and then.

India ended the powerplay with 57 runs without any loss of wicket. Rohit Sharma made 29 (25) while KL Rahul ended with 25(11) from the first six overs.

Both the opening batters continued the onslaught taking apart the South African bowlers and stitched together a 96-run partnership before the Indian captain was dismissed by Keshav Maharaj in the 10th over of the inning.

India was at 96/1 after completing half the quota of overs, with KL Rahul scoring 48 off just 22 deliveries, while Virat Kohli was yet to open his account having faced just one ball.

Rahul brought up his half-century with a handsome six, hitting a clean strike down the ground of Markram in the 11th over. However, the batter was found in front of the stumps the very next over. Maharaj picked up his second wicket of the match and dismissed Rahul for a well-made 57 off 28 balls which included five boundaries and four towering sixes.

The wicket of Rahul brought in the in-form Suryakumar Yadav who needed no invitation to go ballistic right from the word go. Yadav swept his third ball for a four and made his intentions very clear.

Kohli and Yadav made great use of the superb platform set by the Indian openers as the duo kept scoring at a quick rate.

Rabada came onto bowl the 15th over and faced the fury of Suryakumar’s bat as the Indian absolutely decimated the pacer, hitting him for two sixes and two fours, clinching 22 runs off the over.

Suryakumar carried on the mayhem as he smashed two more sixes to bring up his fifty off just 18 balls in the 17th over.

Kohli who had been playing second fiddle until now also joined the party and smashed three boundaries in quick succession.

The crowd was witnessing an absolute mockery of the South African bowling, but it came to a minute halt after Suryakumar was run out at the beginning of the 19th over, ending his blazing knock. Suryakumar smashed 61 off 22 balls with the help of five boundaries and five sixes.

Kohli carried finding boundaries and struck two more to take 10 runs off the 19th over.

Dinesh Karthik took the crease in the final over, a situation that was absolutely tailor-made for the batsman. Karthik bludgeoned two sixes and a four in the final over to snatch 18 runs and take India to a massive score of 237/3.

Kohli missed yet another 50-plus score as he ended with 49 off 28 balls.

Brief Score: India 237/3 (Surayakumar Yadav 61, KL Rahul 57; Keshav Maharaj 2-23) vs South Africa 221/3 (David Miller 106, Quinton de Kock 69; Arshdeep Singh 2-62) (ANI)

Let’s Keep Sports Free From Personal Attacks: Sachin Backs Arshdeep

By LokMarg 6th September 2022

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had words of support and encouragement for young pacer Arshdeep Singh who is under fire for dropping a crucial catch against Pakistan in the Super Four clash at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

The 23-year-old Indian pacer is under pressure for dropping an important catch in the 18th over of Pakistan’s innings against India in the Super Four phase clash while the former were chasing 182 runs. Singh had dropped Asif Ali, who took full advantage of the lifeline given to him as Pakistan hit pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 19 runs in the next over. Arshdeep Singh was given the final over to defend seven runs but was unsuccessful.
Arshdeep became the target of vicious online trolling after he dropped the crucial catch. The word “India” was replaced with “Khalistan” on Singh’s Wikipedia page by an anonymous user even as another editor shortly undid these changes. Reportedly, some handles from Pakistan also became active.

“Every athlete representing the country gives their best and plays for the nation always. They need our constant support & remember, that in sports you win some & you lose some. Let’s keep cricket or any other sport free from personal attacks. @arshdeepsinghh keep working hard…. and give the best reply by performing on the field. I am keenly following you. My best wishes,” said Tendulkar in two tweets.

Notably, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has taken note of the edited Wikipedia page linking cricketer Arshdeep Singh to Khalistan and MeitY is expected to initiate action on Wikipedia, said sources.

The Ministry of Electronics and Technology on Monday said that “no intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation” after cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s Wikipedia page was edited by an unregistered user, linking him to the separatist Khalistani movement.

“No intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation and deliberate efforts to incitement and user harm – violates our govt’s expectation of Safe & Trusted Internet,” tweeted Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS Electronics and Technology.

Pictures were shared on social media, stating that “he was named in Khalistan squad for the 2018 under-19 World Cup.” The edit history of Arshdeep’s Wikipedia page revealed that the user who made those changes was unregistered and was using the internet protocol (IP) address 39.41.171.125.

The user also edited his name to “Major Arshdeep Singh Langra” and a minute later, to “Major Arshdeep Singh Bajwa”. Many random changes were done to Singh’s game statistics.

The address allocation records showed that the particular address was allocated to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).

Indian cricket fraternity has also come out in support of the young pacer who had dropped a crucial catch in the 18th over of the match.

Indian batter Virat Kohli had some strong words in his support and said “Even when I played my first game against Pakistan in Champions Trophy, I played a bad shot and got out. Anyone can make mistakes under pressure. It is natural to feel bad. The team environment is great right now, credit for this goes to management and the captain. So one must accept his mistake, address it and look forward to being in that pressure situation once again,” said Kohli in a post-match press conference on Sunday.

He was backed by the former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who stated that no one drops catches purposely and the young seamer should not be criticized.

“Stop criticising young @arshdeepsinghh. No one drops a catch purposely..we are proud of our boys .. Pakistan played better.. shame on such people who r putting our own guys down by saying cheap things on this platform bout Arsh and the team.. Arsh is GOLD,” Harbhajan tweeted.

Coming to the match, put to bat first by Pakistan, India put on 181/7 in their 20 overs. Chasing 182, Pakistan crossed the finishing line with one ball to spare and by a margin of five wickets. (ANI)