India vs South Africa: Arshdeep Singh's three-wicket haul followed by Suryakumar Yadav's 50* and KL Rahul's unbeaten knock of 51 helped India defeat South Africa by eight wickets in the first match of the three-match T20I series here at Greenfield International Stadium on Wednesday. Singh took the crucial wickets of Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, and David Miller, and on the other hand, Deepak Chahar's two-wicket haul skipper Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs sent the South Africa batters in trouble.
Following the eight-wicket win over South Africa, Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh said that the ball was swinging and his plan was to pitch it in the right places. "It felt really good getting those wickets early. It is always a great feeling. The plan was really simple. The ball was swinging and I had to pitch it at the right places," said Arshdeep in a post-match press conference.
Soon after the match, Twitter was loaded with memes appreciating Arshdeep Singh. A user wrote, "Fantastic Performance by
@arshdeepsinghh Yesterday & congratulations to him on winning the 'Player Of The Match' Award for his amazing bowling performance. We won the first T20 against South Africa!! Keep it going Men in Blue!" Another added, "From a "Drop catch" India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022 to "Man of the Match" South Africa vs India, 1st T20I Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram India won by 8 wkts.#arshdeepsingh #cricketT20." Take a look:
Arshdeep admitted that spending some days at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) had helped him come back into the game stronger and fitter after he missed out on the Australian series at home. ALSO READ: Women take on the Garba fever in Mumbai train, netizens say 'Festivities in the air' | Viral Video
On how his team is looking to adapt to Australian conditions, he said, "The main motive of the team is adapt as per conditions and situations, whatever the demands of the team are. When we will go there (to Australia), we will see how pitches work, the conditions and the dimensions of the ground. We will adapt really well, looking forward to doing well there."
With this victory, India leads the series 1-0.
(With ANI inputs)
