Had to pitch the ball in the right places and it worked well: Arshdeep Singh

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 29 (IANS) Usually known for his excellence in death overs bowling, young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh for a change broke the back of South Africa's innings with the new ball with triple strikes in his first over to set the base for India's eight-wicket win at the Greenfield International Stadium.

On his match-defining spell, Arshdeep, who was adjudged the Player of the Match, said his plan was to bowl at the right areas as the ball was swinging, which worked well in his favour. He also credited Deepak Chahar, who took two wickets in power-play, for showing the path to bowl in right areas on a green carpet.

"Getting the wickets early up (in the inning) was always a great feeling. I guess the plan was really simple, the ball was swinging. I had to pitch it (the ball) in the right places and it worked well. It was about hitting the right areas, getting the swing earlier and making sure the line was good."

"We practice for every type of situation in the practice session. Our job is to adapt to the situations which the team asks for and do well for the team. Today (Wednesday) it was more about the new ball and we worked really well as a pair, me and DC (Deepak Chahar) bhai. A lot of credit goes to him as well for a good start," said Arshdeep in post-match press conference.

Arshdeep went on to explain that the Indian team's main motive currently is to be as adaptive as possible in the final bilateral T20I series before going for T20 World Cup in Australia. "The main motive is adapting to the situations and demands of the team, whatever the situations and conditions are. So, I guess that adaptability is a big motive of our team. When we go there (Australia) we will see how the pitches behave and how the conditions are and the dimensions of the ground."

"We will adapt to the situation really well there and look to do well. We are trying to tick all the boxes in the practice sessions and just trying to execute all our plans on the field. Today (Wednesday) was really a good example of showing really good power play bowling and we are looking forward to do amazing things in the coming games."

With Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the match due to a back niggle, a certainty in the playing eleven for the T20 World Cup, Arshdeep, coming after undergoing conditioning work at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) is in a three-way battle with Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the remaining two pace bowling spots.

"The purpose of the last 10 days was to get refreshed and come back stronger and fitter that will help me in my bowling. I feel really refreshed and looking forward to doing good things on the field."

"Talking about coming on the scene, talks were there and they told me you're 'in the plan' in back end of the IPL. I guess the main motive was to keep doing well whatever opportunities I get, that's my job I feel and I don't think much about the selection part," concluded the left-arm pacer.