IND vs SA T20Is: Fired-up Arshdeep leads a superb Indian bowling display

A wayward spell in the second T20I at New Chandigarh, which included a worrying nine wides, turned out to be a blip. The best of Arshdeep Singh was back on view on Sunday, setting the tone for a dominant Indian win.

Arshdeep was near unplayable in the third T20I here, landing his seamers on a dime. Under helpful conditions at the picturesque HPCA Stadium, the left-arm pacer trapped Reeza Hendricks in front of the wicket in the first over and then kept Aiden Markram and Dewald Brevis guessing with deliveries which darted away from a good length.

Arshdeep found the ideal new-ball partner in Harshit Rana. Harshit’s heavy ball kept the South Africans on the back foot, and when he pitched one up to Brevis, the feet went nowhere and an airy drive was chopped back onto the stumps.

Arshdeep and Harshit bowled three overs each to complete a tight PowerPlay, leaving the Proteas shackled on 25 for three.

Arshdeep’s reputation as a death-over specialist came to the fore when he deceived Markram in the 19th over. Markram, who in the previous over had hit Harshit for two sixes, could not get into a good power stance when Arshdeep cleverly changed the line to well outside off.

Arshdeep and Harshit’s good show made up for the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who returned home for personal reasons.

The 26-year-old Arshdeep indulged in some friendly banter with bowling coach Morne Morkel, who received unwanted attention during Arshdeep’s poor performance at New Chandigarh.

“After the last game, he (Morkel) told me that I gave him a lot of screen time. This is because every time I bowled a wide, the television cameras turned to the bowling coach, giving the impression that he gave me wrong plans or he did not have practice sessions with me. So I would like to apologise to Morne. I’ll try to minimise his screen time from now on,” Arshdeep told BCCI.tv.

Harshit, whose selection in the Indian team is often questioned by pundits, made the most of his chance. Playing his first game of the series, Harshit reaped the rewards of Arshdeep creating pressure at the other end.

Varun Chakaravarthy served another reminder of his class. The top-ranked T20I bowler in the world, Varun stuck to his stump-to-stump formula to great effect.

With Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Kuldeep Yadav chipping in with wickets, it was a perfect night out for the Indian bowling attack.

While the side awaits the return of spearhead Bumrah, this crew is more than capable of holding fort.