Arshdeep Singh gets stern warning for poor game awareness: ‘Isn’t going to impress coach Gautam Gambhir’
Arshdeep faced backlash for his shot selection on social media, and a former India cricketer also criticised him for his poor game awareness.
Team India star Arshdeep Singh failed to hold his nerves and played a reckless shot during the first ODI against Sri Lanka as the match ended in a tie. The equation was quite simple when Arshdeep, the last Indian batter, came out to bat in the series opener, as India required just one run to win the match off 14 balls, with both teams' scores tied at 230. The tailender went for a big shot straightaway on the first ball he faced but missed it completely and got hit on the pads. Charith Asalanka straightaway appealed loudly, and the umpire gave it out. Arshdeep went for a review, and it was shown that he was plumb in front of the wicket, and the match ended in a tie.
Arshdeep faced backlash for his shot selection on social media, and former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh also criticised him for his poor game awareness.
"You can’t expect run from the tail enders but a bit of game awareness is paramount for any cricketer. That shot from Arshdeep isn’t going to impress the coach Gambhir #SLvIND #DoddaMathu," Ganesh wrote on X.
However, Ganesh heaped praise on the Sri Lankan bowlers for the massive turnaround in the game and suggested that the tie will definitely boost their morale for the remaining two matches.
"And it’s a tie. Great application shown by Sri Lankan bowlers. This is a going to be a great moral booster for the underdogs #SLvIND," Ganesh wrote on X.
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Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma also expressed his disappointment over the team failing to score one run off 14 balls.
“In the end, little disappointing, 14 balls, 1 run to get. These things happen. Sri Lanka played well. In the end, it was a fair result,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation.
Earlier, chasing a 231-run target, skipper Rohit Sharma gave India a flying start with 58 off 47 balls, while Axar Patel (33) and KL Rahul (31) also chipped in with contributions but couldn't finish off the game. Shivam Dube (25) led India to within one run of victory but Asalanka's double strikes ended the game. He took 3-30.
Charith Asalanka (3/30) and Wanindu Hasaranga (3/58) were the pick of the bowlers for the hosts.
