Arshdeep Singh produced the standout bowling performance for India, taking 3/19 as India restricted Afghanistan to 156/8 in the opening game of the three-match T20I series on Sunday.However, Arshdeep also bowled 51 wides, the most by any bowler for a team since January 2025.Arshdeep’s 51 wides accounted for 7.4% of all the balls he bowled during the period. Renegades’ R Ngarava and West Indies’ Jason Holder follow with 38 wides each, while New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy and West Indies’ Romario Shepherd have bowled 36 each.
Arshdeep strikes at crucial moments
Jasprit Bumrah bowled some sharp deliveries, but Arshdeep stole the show with his 3/19 as India kept Afghanistan under pressure for most of the innings.The two spinners, Varun Chakravarthy (1/16 in 4 overs) and Axar Patel (1/27 in 4 overs), controlled the game during the first 10 overs.Bumrah (1/26 in 4 overs) also bowled at full tilt and sent down 16 dot balls. He removed former Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck after the ball kicked up and Gurbaz edged it to Abhishek Sharma, who took a smart low catch at first slip.Arshdeep used variations and changes of pace to make breakthroughs at important moments.
Most wides bowled since Jan 2025 (FM team)
- 51 Arshdeep Singh (7.4% of all balls)
- 38 R Ngarava (5.8%)/ J Holder (5.2%)
- 36 J Duffy (5.8%)/ R Shepherd (8.6%)
Arshdeep removes Nabi, Rashid struggles
Ibrahim Zadran (13) and Sediqullah Atal (11) hit a few shots before a mix-up ended the Afghanistan captain’s innings.Arshdeep then bowled a wide yorker that Atal tried to dig out. Bumrah, standing at fly slip, took an easy catch.Gulbadin Naib (2) played an inside-out shot against Axar Patel and was caught by Nitish Reddy. Varun then continued to attack the stumps and breached Darwish Rasooli’s defence, leaving Afghanistan at 43/5 in seven overs.But Azmatullah Omarzai counter-attacked and targeted Nitish Reddy, who became the weak link in India’s attack.Arshdeep returned for his second spell and clean bowled the dangerous Mohammad Nabi after being hit for a six.Once Nabi was dismissed, Afghanistan suffered another mini-collapse. Rashid Khan struggled to get going against Bumrah and Arshdeep and was eventually caught in the deep after scoring just one run from 10 balls.
Omarzai keeps Afghanistan above 150
Omarzai continued to fight back and smashed Shivam Dube for two sixes in the final over.The over produced 21 runs and helped Afghanistan finish on 156/8, giving the ‘home’ team a total of more than 150.
