Arshdeep Singh was back in action after a short break, playing his first T20I in 2023 against Sri Lanka on Thursday in Pune. However, the outing turned out to be a forgettable affair for the left-arm quick who bagged a bizarre bowling record in the shortest format of the game.
The fast bowler from Punjab conceded 37 runs in just 2 overs but what became the biggest talking point was the number of no balls he bowled. Arshdeep delivered as many as 5 no balls; most by an Indian in a T20I innings. With this appalling feat, he went past his previous tally of four against South Africa. It’s also the joint-highest by a bowler from a full-member nation, along with West Indies’ Keemo Paul.
While Arshdeep bowled 5 no-balls, Umran Malik and Shivam Mavi conceded 1 each, making it a total of 7 by the Men in Blue in an innings. Thus, India levelled the records of Ireland (vs Oman), Afghanistan (vs Oman), and Sri Lanka (vs UAE) as a full-time member to concede the most number of no balls in a T20I innings.
So far, Arshdeep has conceded 14 no balls in 22 appearances for India and has edged past Pakistan’s Hasan Ali (11) to go atop. West Indies bowlers Keemo Paul and Oshane Thomas have also bowled 11 each.
An undisciplined bowling attack let the Lankans pile up a mammoth score of 206 for 6 in 20 overs. One of Arshdeep’s no-ball in the 19th over led to visiting skipper Dasun Shanaka’s wicket. But the latter capitalised on the opportunity and smashed 20 runs off the final over. He ended up scoring an unbeaten 56 off just 26 balls, with the help of 2 boundaries and 6 maximums. Before Shanaka’s brilliant knock, wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis smoked 52 off 31 balls to provide a flying start to the innings.
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India had a nightmarish start to their chase slumping to 57 for 5 before Axar (65 off 31) and Surya (51 off 36) raised hopes of an improbable win with a scintillating sixth-wicket stand.
The task became tough once Surya departed in the 16th over, but Axar and Shivam Mavi (26 off 15) shared quick 41 runs to bring down the equation to 21 off the last over.
But Axar’s dismissal in the third ball of the final over was the last nail in the coffin for India.
(With Agency Inputs)
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