T20 World Cup 2024: The plan was to hit the hard lengths – Arshdeep Singh after match-winning performance against USA

India’s fast bowler Arshdeep Singh revealed his plan was to hit the hard lengths after their seven-wicket win against the USA at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on Wednesday. Singh struck on the first ball of the innings as he plumbed Shayan Jahangir for a golden duck after Rohit Sharma decided to bowl first.

The left-arm pacer also accounted for Andrius Gous on the final ball of the over as he gave a perfect start to his team. The fast bowler from Punjab got rid of USA’s top-scorer Nitish Kumar in his second spell and also dismissed Harmeet Singh to return with best bowling figures of 4-9.

Singh admitted he wasn’t at his absolute best in the first two matches against Ireland and Pakistan as he conceded his runs at a high economy rate but was glad to find his form against the Americans.

Singh played a key role in restricting the hosts to an under-par score of 110 and thus was awarded Player of the Match. With this win, India also secured their Super 8 qualification.

He said after the win, “Very very happy with the performance. In the last two games, I gave away little more runs, wasn’t happy with that. The team always shows belief in me and keep backing me, I had to deliver for them. The wicket is very conducive to fast bowlers and it’s helping us get some seam movement.”

Revealing his bowling plan, Singh said, “The plan was simple, pitch it in the wicket and let the ball do the talking. Don’t give easy balls to score, our batsmen are also facing difficulties to score runs. The plan was to hit the hard lengths. In conditions like this, you can use the wicket more. When you are playing international cricket, you need to have some routines and the way you take care of your body counts. All the bowlers have done extremely well, looking forward to do the same in the next leg as well.”

India will next take on Canada at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida on Saturday.