For a brief while, the US team made up of Indian, Pakistan and Caribbean expats, lit up hopes of pulling off the unthinkable. Only a week ago, USA had shocked Pakistan.
On Wednesday, with the Indian diaspora filling the stands at Nassau County Stadium, and torn between their allegiances, the hosts had India in a spot of bother on more than three occasions. The noise levels when Rishabh Pant fell with India still 66 runs away showed how badly they wished their fellow expats to win the tie. But Suryakumar Yadav’s composure — after being handed a life by Saurabh Netravalkar, who works in California as a technical staff in Oracle after failing to nail a spot in Mumbai Ranji team – meant India remained unbeaten.
A seven-wicket win with 10 deliveries to spare on the last day of the New York leg, where the conditions have been challenging for batsmen, would look convincing. But as Rohit Sharma admitted later, it was a relief for India to leave the Big Apple unscathed. Chasing 111 for win, India were jolted early by Netravalkar. Playing the World Cup after taking time off from his workplace, he had already gatecrashed Pakistan’s party.
On Wednesday, he went beyond that, taking Virat Kohli off the first ball he bowled to him. It was wonderfully set up. The batsman, expecting the in-comer, had opened up his stands. But Netravalkar angled it away, and Kohli just hung his bat out. The ball took the edge and settled in the hands of the wicketkeeper. Netravalkar’s morning would only get better as he ejected Rohit – a familiar face growing up in Mumbai as both played for Payyade Sports Club in Kandivali—in the next over.
At 15/2, Pant and Suryakumar calmed the nerves. But the US fought. Unlike against Pakistan, where they had to win the game with the bat, against a quality batting line-up they had to be disciplined with their bowling. That India scored only four boundaries and as many sixes in their whole innings is a testament to how disciplined their attack was. The required run-rate which was 5.55 at the start of India’ chase climbed to 7.33 by the end of the 14th over. It appeared India were committing the same mistake as Pakistan and Bangladesh. But a timely boundary and six soothed India’s nerves before Suryakumar and Shivam Dube sealed the chase.
Swing king
Earlier, it was all about Arshdeep, who himself had plans of moving abroad seven years ago. Having gone without opportunities in Punjab’s age-group cricket, Arshdeep like countless other Punjabi youth nursed thoughts of moving to Canada, where his elder sibling had migrated to. But he ended up pleading with his father to give him one more year to try his hand in cricket. A year later, he laid hands on the ICC Under-19 World Cup.
From there on, he has hardly looked back. An impressive outing in the 2020 IPL put him in the limelight. In 2021, his calmness and unerring accuracy to deliver yorker after yorker, got him the national cap. But somewhere in between, he stepped away from the track. The swing, especially the one that came back into the right-handed batsmen, went missing. So did pace. From having impeccable control, he struggled to vary the lengths on different conditions. From being looked at as a new ball option across all formats, he ended up being on the fringes.
Last year, he was sent to play county cricket. Slowly, he regained confidence, swing and pace. There are few options for India when it comes to a versatile fast bowler who can bowl whenever the captain intends to. Put simply, there is just Jasprit Bumrah.
But Arshdeep is beginning to show that he can be counted on in every situation. More importantly, with the new ball, he is all the more lethal and he showed it again on Wednesday. He produced enormous in-swing, which trapped Shayan Jahangir in front of the first ball, and then celebrappealed. He closed out the first over by removing Andries Gous, by pulling the length back a bit. The key to bowl at the Nassau stadium has been about landing the ball in good length areas and just adjusting the length a fraction, full or back. Arshdeep did it exceptionally well. Hitting the right lengths had been a problem for Arshdeep in the past. But this IPL, he was back to finding it.
“From a young boy, he’s grown into a man,” Charl Langeveldt, the former South African pacer, who has been coaching Arshdeep at Punjab Kings since 2020 said. “Cricket-wise, he is thinking a lot more about his game. The big change is, he is smart in his practice sessions. He is executing in the nets what he wants to do in the middle. He isn’t over training any more, which is a sign of his game evolving. He has always had the skills and the calmness. It was just about applying your skills at the right time,” Langeveldt added.
As Arshdeep and the rest of India’s bowlers found the ideal length to bowl on this surface, the US had no easy way out. Not least when India’s pacers operated more or less on classic, old-school Test match line and length, and making the ball move either ways. Once the US got through the testing period, they did have their moments of brilliance, targeting Shivam Dube and Axar Patel, the only spinner Rohit used. With Bumrah having an off-day by his standards, the US kept the scoreboard moving. The score on 80/4 after 14 overs, a total of 120-plus seemed possible, but Arshdeep returned to finish the job he began, picking up two more wickets in his final over as the US had to content with 110/8.
India's Arshdeep Singh, right, celebrates with teammate Suryakumar Yadav after the dismissal of United States' Shayan Jahangir during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between United States and India at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Westbury, New York, Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger) 
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