Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj was presented with the ‘Fielder of the Match’ medal by legendary World Cup-winning all-rounder Yuvraj Singh after India’s win over USA in their ICC T20 World Cup group A match on Wednesday. Arshdeep Singh’s spell, followed by Suryakuamar Yadav and Shivam Dube’s 72-run partnership, ensured India maintained their unbeaten run in the ongoing T20 World Cup as they clinched a 7-wicket win over the co-hosts USA at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
During the game, Siraj’s fielding made a lot of impact. He took fine catches to dismiss batters Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar and also ran out Jasdeep Singh on the final ball of the innings. A catch at deep mid-wicket to remove Nitish, which saw him leap backwards to complete the catch, was a major highlight.
Indian fielding coach T Dilip lauded the team’s fielding efforts and consistency over the last three games, saying, “I always believe our team’s consistency is what separates from good to great. And I think that was a perfect example. We showcased that very well today. Well done in the first three games. Every small effort, I think chasing in pairs, what we did, not giving up on the boundary line, backing up, going to hot spots. These are the smallest things which make a lot of difference as a group.”
“I think this helps us to be the best version of ourselves every time we keep pushing those limits. Very well done. And it is very, very important to acknowledge small errors is natural. And what makes us so special is we come back and keep pushing ourselves to the best. And that’s what we can see in the last two games that even if we had a couple of errors, we came back very strongly as a unit.”
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, number one ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav and Siraj were the contenders for the award. Introducing Yuvraj as the special guest to hand over the medal, Dilip called him an “epitome of fielding excellence”.
“Whenever he is on the field, he not only took those catches and made those runouts, but it is an attitude. And every time he went on there, it was an attitude that was willing to make a difference,” he added about Yuvraj.
Yuvraj, in a very short, to-the-point speech, lauded Arshdeep Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Siraj for their performances in the match against the USA.
Coming to the match, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first. The USA put on a fighting total of 110/8 in their 20 overs, with Nitish Kumar (27 in 23 balls, with two fours and a six) and Steven Taylor (24 in 30 balls, with two sixes) playing crucial knocks.
Arshdeep (4/9) and Hardik Pandya (2/14) were the top bowlers for India. Axar Patel also got a wicket.
In the run-chase of 111, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for single-digit scores and Rishabh Pant (18 in 20 balls, with a four and six). India was left struggling at 39/3 in 7.3 overs. Then, Suryakumar Yadav (50 in 49 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Shivam Dube (31* in 35 balls, with a four and six) stitched a match-winning 72-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Saurabh Netravalkar (2/18) was the pick of the bowlers for the USA.
Arshdeep took home the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his spell. India has moved to the Super Eights stage of the tournament, with three wins in three matches so far.
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