What unfolded in Mullanpur now appears to have been a fleeting anomaly. Arshdeep Singh responded in emphatic fashion, producing a calm, intelligent spell under cold conditions in Dharamsala during the third T20I against South Africa on Sunday, December 14.
India’s premier left-arm seamer returned to the principles that have long defined his success, discipline, movement and clarity of thought and delivered a performance that shaped the contest from the outset.
Arshdeep looked settled immediately. His opening delivery to Quinton de Kock curved away invitingly, setting the tone for what followed. Reeza Hendricks was then subjected to a probing examination outside off stump, beaten repeatedly by the ball shaping away through the air. Once the batter was firmly set up, Arshdeep smartly brought one back in on a good length to trap Hendricks lbw, a dismissal rooted in both planning and precision.
Aiden Markram arrived under pressure and faced a similar test. Arshdeep held his channel, alternating fuller balls with good-length deliveries that moved just enough to keep the South African captain uncertain. Even when Markram briefly broke free with a boundary through mid-off, the bowler refused to deviate from his plan, repeatedly beating the outside edge and forcing hesitant footwork.
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Against Dewald Brevis, a sharply nipping delivery led to confusion over a review, an episode Arshdeep later reflected on with humour.
“When I walked into this ground, everyone was telling me that this is also my home ground,” Arshdeep said after the match. “I told them it isn’t. That felt better. I stuck to the basics and trusted my skill set. At this level, off days are inevitable. That was one of those rare days when I couldn’t execute what I wanted. So it feels nice to bounce back.”
The conditions in Dharamsala played directly into his strengths, something Arshdeep acknowledged candidly. “Nothing really changed,” he explained. “I just tried to hit the right areas and get as much help as possible from the surface. It was cold, there was swing and seam, and I tried to keep it simple.”
He returned at the death with the same composure. Mixing wide yorkers with full deliveries angled across the right-handers, Arshdeep effectively shut down South Africa’s scoring options. The decisive moment arrived in the 19th over, when he shaped the ball away from Markram, induced a hard swing and found a faint edge through to wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma.
The evening ended on a lighter note as Arshdeep addressed the early review confusion. “It was Surya bhai who wanted to add some suspense,” he joked. “I knew it was out the moment it struck Hendricks on the front pad. As a bowler, you want to review everything. The two sounds made it confusing, but we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Arshdeep capped off the night by dedicating his Player of the Match award to his 10-month-old niece. “She’s here tonight,” he said with a smile. “I want to dedicate this award to Inayat.”
It was a performance anchored in trust and maturity, a timely reminder of Arshdeep Singh’s enduring value at the highest level.
