“My father was hurling abuse” - Arshdeep Singh recalls watching SA vs WI match with his family

Indian ace pacer Arshdeep Singh, who emerged as India’s leading wicket-taker in T20 World Cup history, has revealed that he and his father, Darshan, watched the South Africa vs West Indies Super8 clash from their hotel room in Chennai. 

Speaking in the post-match press conference after bowling India to a 72-run victory over Zimbabwe, Arshdeep recalled the experience of watching the afternoon affair with his father, stating that his father was hurling abuses at the West Indies batters.

"We didn’t watch the whole thing, but it was certainly a see-saw affair," Arshdeep joked.

"My family was with me in the hotel room, and whenever the West Indies batters smashed a six, my father started shouting: ‘What on earth are you doing?’. He was hurling abuse. I had to settle him down and tell him not to get so worked up. I told him to just enjoy the cricket and keep praying for a South African win,” he added.

On the other hand, Indian middle-order batters Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya also disclosed that they had watched the afternoon clash closely. Notably, South Africa had to defeat the West Indies for India to stay in contention for the semi-finals and the Proteas came out on top with a nine-wicket comfortable win to remain unbeaten in the campaign.

"We were all watching, and we knew it was a good wicket, and that the West Indies hadn't posted enough. Knowing the form the South Africans are in, we knew they’d chase it down. The match felt over before it had even truly started," Tilak Varma remarked.

"We were all keeping an eye on the South Africa-West Indies game. But once that was settled, it was about backing our skills, absorbing the pressure, and putting our best foot forward. As soon as their game ended, our focus shifted entirely to our own performance,” Hardik said.

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