Budding pace sensation Arshdeep Singh emerged as a last-minute hero from a near possibility of being the "culprit" for India's likely defeat in the fifth T20I against Australia at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 4.
After going for 37 runs in his first three overs, Arshdeep was standing at the threshold of being held responsible for India's likely loss. However, the 24-year-old displayed nerves of steel and defended nine runs in the final over to script a dramatic turnaround and made the scoreline 4-1 in favour of the Men in Blue.
While speaking on the official broadcast, the Guna-born narrated his riveting tale of rising like a phoenix after getting off to a nightmarish start in the game.
"I guess for the big part of the game, for almost the first 19 overs, I was thinking that I gave away too many runs and would be the culprit of the game. But god gave me another chance and I believed in myself. Thanks to god that I defended it and thanks to the staff as well who believed in me," said Arshdeep.
The left-arm speedster also shared the conversation he had with his captain Suryakumar before delivering the final over of the fixture and how the latter tried to take the pressure off him.
"To be honest, nothing was going through my mind. Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] bhai told me that whatever happens, happens. The credit goes to our batsmen as well. They gave us a really good total here on a tricky wicket and we had a cushion of an extra 15 to 20 runs," he added.
Notably, Arshdeep has become the second Indian to defend 10 runs or less in a T20I game. Jasprit Bumrah was the first player to defend 10 or less for the Men in Blue. Bumrah had achieved the feat against England while playing at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on January 29, 2017.
