Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin praised Arshdeep Singh after India registered a five-wicket win against the West Indies in the Super 8 clash of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. With this win, India qualified for the semifinals of the ongoing T20I showpiece.
While Singh returned with expensive figures of 0-43 in his quota of four overs, including seven wides, Ashwin praised the left-arm pacer for bowling an impressive 19th over. Singh conceded only six runs in the penultimate over of the innings as he was able to nail his yorkers and thus India was able to restrict the West Indies below 200.
“Arshdeep Singh gave more than 40 runs from four overs, but maybe his 19th over was underrated. People always make decisions seeing no wickets, we are used to seeing Purple Cap in the IPL. He did not get a wicket but the execution in the 19th over, even if he did not get a wicket, completely broke their momentum. It was a crucial over. West Indies could have ended up 210-220 as well,” Ashwin said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.
Ashwin reckons the Indian bowlers haven’t been able to hit the right lengths in the last couple of games.
“In the last two to three games, I feel India’s bowling, slightly, the execution has not been flash. There is a lot of ability, but they are making small mistakes. You need to know exactly when to be defensive and when to attack. I don’t want to pick instances, but at least on three to four occasions, where we could have bowled deliveries to shut down, we have not done that. It is my only issue. If you are playing a tight game and giving away boundaries just because you are looking for a wicket, it is somewhat not okay, and those 15-20 runs could cost heavily,” he stated.
On the other hand, Axar Patel was the most economical bowler, returning with figures of 0-35 in his quota of four overs. Ashwin said Patel is an unsung hero.
“He is always an unsung hero. He does not have many tricks but keeps his lengths right, varies the speed well. For a spinner, with confidence and experience, this comes easily. It is the same with Axar, he does not turn the ball a lot, but the speed bandwidth is there. He is slowing it a lot more than he used to,” Ashwin said.
India will take on England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.
