ADELAIDE: Indian captain Rohit Sharma took a risk by giving the final over of the ICC men's World T20 Cup match against Bangladesh to the rookie bowler Arshdeep Singh, and it paid off brilliantly.
In the rain-delayed match at the Adelaide Oval, Bangladesh needed 20 runs to win in the final six balls, but Arshdeep made sure that India won by five runs using the DLS system.
The young player from Punjab has undoubtedly earned the confidence of his skipper thanks to his steady play in the first stages of the competition.
Instead of asking his more seasoned teammates Mohammed Shami or Bhuvaneshwar Kumar to take on the tense task, the Indian captain assigned him to bowl his fourth and final over, which also happened to be the game's final.
Everything must have started with the captain's belief in Arshdeep's aptitude.
From the first game against Pakistan, a high-stakes contest played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23, the lanky 23-year-old from Punjab has won over admirers.
With a total of 9 wickets from four games, the left-arm speedster is India's top wicket-taker, surpassing second-placed Hardik Pandya (6).
The lanky youngster earned a call-up for T20 national duty after an excellent IPL season with Kings XI Punjab. Then, just over three months ago, he made his India debut in Southampton against England.
The Indian team management is in no doubt impressed by Arshdeep's power play and end-of-game bowling. Since his debut on July 7, he has appeared in the majority of the T20Is that his nation has played, including all four of the matches so far in Australia.
In his first two overs in the tense match at the MCG, the Punjab pacer upset India's bitter opponent Pakistan by dismissing skipper Babar Azam and openers Mohammed Rizwan.
On Wednesday at the Adelaide Oval, however, things were tense when the lanky left-arm quick was asked to take the ball and bowl the final over after being hammered for 12 runs in his first over.
Bangladesh got off to a fast start in their pursuit of India's challenging score of 184 for 6, reaching 66 for no loss at the conclusion of the seventh over when the play was halted by torrential rain.
Play began after 45 minutes, with Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto at the crease after the rain stopped pouring down on the outfield after more than 30 minutes. Litton Das had reached 50 in just 21 balls during the power play.
When play resumed, Bangladesh's target had been changed to 151 runs in 16 overs. India received a lucky break when Das was run out while attempting a second run thanks to K.L. Rahul's stunning long throw at the non-end striker's stumps.
And when Bangladesh had eight wickets in hand and the target was 52 from 30 balls just over the 10-over mark, things looked challenging for India.
After Arshdeep's opening over was costly, Rohit's belief in his bowler's abilities allowed India to reenter the match.
By tempting the batters with short balls buried in the pitch, the young man from MP removed both number four Afif Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh's most seasoned player and captain.
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