Chennai, February 27 Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh said he is still learning the nuances of his craft, such as adaptability and staying ahead of batsmen, from his senior partners Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj.
Arshdeep took three wickets, conceding only 24 runs, to keep the Zimbabwean batsmen in check in the T20 World Cup Super Eights match here.
"I am the youngest in the bowling group. The team trusts us, and if we get a chance to bowl in the powerplay, it means we will get a lot of wickets, because the batsmen try to score runs at that time," Arshdeep began in an interaction with the media after India's 72-run victory over the African side.
"So, how can I be proactive, one step ahead of the batsmen, and how can I adapt to the conditions? How can I change my bowling strategy? I am working on that, with Mourne (Morkel), and I have some great bowling partners, such as Mohamed Siraj or Jasprit, and on the new ball, there's Hardik bhai as well," he added.
But how did the batsmen's massive score of 256 help the bowlers?
"We were not focused on how many runs we scored, we just wanted to bowl according to our plans, and maintain our standards. We always have a target in mind, like 160 or 180, depending on the wicket and ground conditions, and what the wicket is playing like," he said.
"So, we always try to improve our standards as a bowling unit, and, yes, it's good to have an extra 20, 30, 40, 70 runs. But at the end of the day, we just want to improve our standards as a bowling group," he added.
India will now face two-time champions West Indies in a virtual knockout game in Kolkata on March 1, for a place in the semifinals.
Arshdeep was aware of the task ahead of the team.
"They (WI vs SA) played really well in the middle overs, they took the game deep, and then scored 180 runs," he said.
"So, I guess they can also adapt, according to the situation, but looking forward to the game, we'll see how the wicket plays, and what the conditions are like," he said.
Arshdeep said that the players and their family members were keeping an eye on the Windies' match against South Africa.
A West Indies win on Thursday could have dampened India's hopes of reaching the semifinals, but the Proteas scored a resounding nine-wicket victory to keep Group 1 open.
"My family was in the room. When the West Indies batsmen were scoring runs, my father scolded them, asking, 'What are you doing, what are you doing?' I said, 'It's okay, just enjoy the match, and hope that South Africa wins, and we win both our matches well.'
"I think if we win, we will play good cricket, and the result will take care of itself, and they played very well, thank you to them as well for giving us the chance to decide our result in the next match," he added.
