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Arshdeep's shoulder and a leaking attack trouble India before Bengaluru decider
The left-arm seamer was hit by a Shamar Joseph bouncer in Hyderabad and is icing his shoulder. India must find a way to stop West Indies' 240-plus totals before Saturday.
Key points
- Arshdeep Singh retired hurt after a blow to the left shoulder in the fourth T20I.
- West Indies have made 240-plus twice against India in a week.
- The five-match series is level at 2-2 going into Saturday's final game at the Chinnaswamy.
India go to Bengaluru for Saturday’s series decider against West Indies with a doubt over Arshdeep Singh and a bigger worry about a bowling attack that has been taken apart twice in a week.
Arshdeep was struck on the left shoulder and upper arm by a short ball from Shamar Joseph in the final over of India’s chase in Hyderabad on Wednesday night. With 35 needed off the over and one wicket in hand, he tried to bat on in obvious pain before captain Shreyas Iyer called him off. He retired hurt on 5 off 4 balls, and West Indies won by 24 runs to level the five-match series at 2-2.
No medical update had been given by Thursday afternoon. Sanju Samson, who spoke after the match, offered only a hopeful note. “Arshdeep is putting ice on his shoulders. Hopefully he gets well soon,” he said.
The bowling problem
West Indies made 247 for 3 in Hyderabad, days after chasing 250 in Ranchi. Iyer was clear about where Wednesday’s game went wrong. “I think we did not execute our line lengths well,” he said, adding that West Indies “executed their plan” and that “credit where it is due”.
He does not plan wholesale change. “So, the approach is going to be the same, and I feel going forward we have to have good execution and mindset,” Iyer said. “I am sure the fifth (T20I) one would be an interesting one.”
Samson was asked about the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. “There is no replacement for Jasprit Bumrah. He is a once-in-a-generation kind of bowler, and we are very lucky to have him,” he said, while backing younger bowlers such as Arshdeep and Prince Yadav. “The more we play them, the more we back them, the better they will become.”
Former India batter Mohammad Kaif wants Kuldeep Yadav back. The wrist-spinner went for 53 in Ranchi and has been left out since, with Naman Dhir used as the second spin option. Kaif also warned against relying on big chases. “Thinking that we can chase down 250 is a massive risk,” he said.
The defeat was Iyer’s eighth in 19 T20Is as captain, after India had gone into the series on a run of 10 straight wins.
Hope in form of his life
India’s main problem has a name. Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102 off 50 balls in Hyderabad was his fourth hundred of the tour and his second of the T20I leg. He has three player-of-the-match awards in India and joked about getting them home. “To be honest, those (POTM trophies) were a bit heavy; we got to look at luggage weight,” he said.
Keemo Paul’s 5 for 41 made him the first West Indies bowler with more than one five-wicket haul in men’s T20Is, and only the second bowler to take five in a T20I against India, after Obed McCoy’s 6 for 17 in 2022.
Samson summed up the mood. “We are 2-all now. All comes down to Bangalore now. We are really charged up for the last game.”
How the series has gone
- 1st T20I, LucknowIndia chase 172 to win by eight wickets
- 2nd T20I, RanchiWest Indies chase 250, reaching 252 for 4 in 18.3 overs
- 3rd T20I, IndoreIndia defend 223 to win by 14 runs
- 4th T20I, HyderabadWest Indies make 247 for 3 and win by 24 runs
- 5th T20I, BengaluruDecider at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, 17 October