Arshdeep Singh endured a night to forget in Chandigarh as the Indian left-arm pacer delivered one of the most erratic overs in recent T20I history during the second match against South Africa on Thursday.
Bowling the 11th over of the innings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Arshdeep leaked a staggering 18 runs - seven of them coming through wides - leaving India's bowling coach Gautam Gambhir visibly frustrated in the dugout.
South Africa were already cruising at 92 for 1 when Arshdeep was brought back into the attack, with Quinton de Kock in full flow. What followed was a chaotic sequence of deliveries that saw the bowler lose his rhythm completely. The over began with de Kock launching a straight six back over the bowler's
head, signalling trouble. Things spiralled quickly as Arshdeep missed his lines repeatedly, spraying wide yorkers outside the tramline and drifting the ball down leg.
Gautam Gambhir reaction when Arshdeep Singh bowled Wide. pic.twitter.com/f31QuMKi65
- Selfless⁴⁵ (@SelflessCricket) December 11, 2025
The umpire signalled wide after wide in quick succession, with the bowler delivering seven wides in the same over, an unusually high count at the international level. At one point, Morne Morkel - India's fast-bowling coach - was shown by the cameras looking concerned, while Gambhir was seen shaking his head in disbelief. The crowd too grew restless as the over stretched on endlessly, with de Kock and Aiden Markram rotating the strike between the chaotic extras.
In all, 18 runs came off the over, even though only four legal scoring shots were bowled. De Kock, who was already dominating the Indian attack, capitalised enough to continue steering South Africa's chase. The wicketkeeper-batter's half-century reinforced his strong record against India - he now has the joint-highest number of 50-plus scores (five) against the Men in Blue in T20Is.
Arshdeep's figures at that stage read 3-0-38-0, reflecting the tough outing he endured. While one poor over can occur in T20 cricket, the lack of control and repeated wides ensured this one stood out for all the wrong reasons. With the series progressing, India will hope their left-arm quick regains his rhythm quickly, especially with big tournaments on the horizon.
