IND vs SL: It’s not about blaming him, but no-ball is crime: Hardik Pandya on Arshdeep Singh’s five no-balls

Pune (Maharashtra): After suffering a 16-run loss against Sri Lanka, India skipper Hardik Pandya said they know that bowling no-ball in any format is a crime and it is not about blaming Arshdeep Singh who bowled 5 no-balls in the innings.

Axar Patel’s blistering 65 of 31 balls and Suryakumar Yadav’s 51 of 36 balls went in vain as India lost to Sri Lanka by 16 runs in a high-scoring match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Thursday.

India conceded seven no-balls and gave away plenty of runs through free hits. Arshdeep overstepped three times in a row in the second over of the innings, becoming the first Indian bowler to bowl a hat-trick of no-balls in T20Is. The umpire ruled the seamer’s final ball of the over was a no-ball.

Arshdeep bowled only 2 overs, conceding 37 runs as Sri Lanka fought back to put 206 on the board in the first innings.

“For Arshdeep, in this situation, it is very difficult. It is not about blaming him or to be too hard on him, but we know no-balls in any format is a crime,” Hardik Pandya said in a post-match presentation.

The speedster created the record for bowling the most number of no-balls in a T20I match by an Indian bowler. All the extras and runs conceded in free hits turned out to be decisive in the end.

India skipped said that they should learn to focus on what they can control and that anyone can have a bad day but they shouldn’t move away from the basics.

“In bowling and batting, the powerplay hurt us. We made some basic errors, which we shouldn’t be making at this level. Everyone knows what it is, The learning for us is we should be focussing on what we can control. You can have a good day, you can have a bad day, but you shouldn’t be moving away from the basics,” Pandya added.

He said, “Rahul is accustomed to playing at no. 3, and, if someone comes in, we want to give them a role they are comfortable with. That’s why he batted at No. 3.”