Arshdeep Singh unleashed his skills as he made the ball talk in Punjab's quarterfinal clash in the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Maharashtra on Saturday, January 11. Arshdeep produced a brilliant opening spell after captain Abhishek Sharma opted to bowl first.
He got the ball moving both ways and troubled the batters Ruturaj Gaikwad and Siddhesh Veer early in his spell. He got Gaikwad early in the first over after testing him with his swing and seam. After beating an outside edge and bottling his cut shot attempt, Arshdeep bowled one ball that moved away a little that squared Gaikwad and hit the off stump.?
After getting the Maharashtra skipper, he got Siddhesh in the third over. The 25-year-old speedster teased him with a delivery that moved away from the left-hander and then brought one back in to catch the outside edge and get him caught behind. In no time, Maharashtra were 8/2 after 3 overs. The signs will please the Indian selectors and the think tank as Arshdeep is making his case for inclusion in India's squad for the Champions trophy.
Watch Arshdeep's brilliant opening spell:
While the left-armer troubled at the start, Arshin Kulkarni and Ankit Bawne were able to find some boundaries off him. After he was off the attack, they kept the scoreboard ticking and stitched a 145-run stand for the third wicket.?
Bawne was bowled by Naman Dhir for 60, however, Arshin made the most out of his List A debut. Playing in the 50-over format for the first time, Arshin slammed a hundred and ended his knock strongly on 107 from 137 deliveries.?
Arshin's knock and late contributions from Nikhil Naik and Satyajeet Bachhav propelled Maharashtra to a competitive score of 275/6. Both were unbeaten at the end with Nikhil making 52 and Satyajeet scoring 20 crucial runs.?
From the Punjab side, Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers, having taken three wickets for 56 in his nine overs. He took apart Gaikwad with a brilliant delivery that cleaned him up in the opening over, before accounting for Siddhesh Veer in the third over. Abhishek Sharma was the most economical bowler with figures of 1/42 in his 10 overs.
Maharashtra's Playing XI:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Arshin Kulkarni, Siddhesh Veer, Ankit Bawne, Rahul Tripathi, Azim Kazi, Nikhil Naik (wk), Satyajeet Bachhav, Rajneesh Gurbani, Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dadhe
Punjab's Playing XI:
Abhishek Sharma (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir, Anmol Malhotra (wk), Ramandeep Singh , Sanvir Singh, Baltej Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Raghu Sharma
