Arshdeep Singh bowls hat-trick of no-balls, sets unwanted record

PUNE: India’s young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh registered his name in the unwanted list of bowlers with the most number of no-balls in a T20I during the ongoing second T20I against Sri Lanka.

The left-arm pacer endured the no-balls woes right from the start of his opening spell when he overstepped on the fifth delivery of his first over.

Arshdeep then overstepped twice more while bowling the same delivery and allowing Sri Lankan batter Kusal Mendis to make the most of the free hits as he smashed the former for a boundary and a six.

The left-arm pacer’s miserable first over aided Sri Lanka to gain momentum in the opening overs as the touring side scored 55/0 at the end of the powerplay.

Following his poor first over, Indian captain Hardik Pandya removed Arshdeep from the attack and called Shivam Mavi to bowl the first over.

Later, Pandya recalled Arshdeep to bowl the 19th over and the latter’s second but the misery continued for Arshdeep as he bowled two more no-balls to take his tally to five in the innings.

Following Arshdeep’s no-balls, the left-arm pacer became the second bowler to bowl five no-balls in a T20 international, while also becoming the first Indian bowler to bowl three no-balls in an over in T20Is.

Meanwhile, the pacer has thus far bowled 14 no-balls in his brief T20I career and bowled more than one no-ball in a series on four occasions including Asia Cup 2022.

READ: Sethi slams Jay Shah for unilaterally unveiling Asia Cup calendar