“We were confident of winning with the playing XI we fielded” - Arshdeep Singh on India’s long tail in 1st T20I

Team India left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh backed the playing XI that took the field in the first T20I against West Indies on Thursday. While some experts and fans questioned India’s long tail in the wake of their four-run defeat, Arshdeep brushed aside the criticism, stating that such things are often said in hindsight.

Playing in their 200th international match, India faltered in a chase of 150. After restricting the West Indies to 149/6, they managed only 145/9 in response. Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav came into bat at No. 8 and struggled to get going, scoring 3 off nine balls. The Men in Blue needed 37 off the last five overs, but faltered, losing wickets at regular intervals.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Arshdeep disagreed with the observation that India were one batter short.

“Not really. Such things always come up after the end of the game. We were confident of winning the match with the playing XI we fielded. We always back our team and the playing XI. Whether there are six bowlers or nine, it doesn’t matter. The 11 players who take the field back each other to win the match from any situation,” he said.

The 24-year-old, however, agreed that India needed one batter to stay till the end for them to go past West Indies’ total.

“I guess we needed one batter to stay till the end because in their last two overs, five fielders were inside the 30-yard circle,” Arshdeep added.

The Men in Blue were reasonably placed at 113/4 after 15 overs. Jason Holder, however, bowled Indian captain Hardik Pandya (19) with the first ball of the 16th over. A few balls later, Kyle Mayers ran out Sanju Samson (12) with a brilliant direct hit. India could not recover from the double blow.

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“We will analyze what we could have done better" - Arshdeep Singh

Reflecting on the disappointing performance in the first T20I, the left-arm seamer stated that they would analyze where they went wrong and look to improve in all departments.

“We will review the match. We will analyze what we could have done better in the first innings. Where we could we have stopped more runs and, as a batting unit in the second innings, where we missed the finishing bit,” Arshdeep said.

The second T20I between India and West Indies will be played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday.