Arshdeep Singh showed off his football skills during the first T20I against New Zealand to put an end to Bevon Jacob’s knock. In the five-match series opener, Singh brought out his inner footballer to record
a magic wicket and forced Jacob to walk back on 31 runs. The Shreyas Iyer-led side, who were coming off a series draw against the West Indies, were aiming to dominate the Mitchell Santner-led side at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on October 22.
However, after opting to field first, the Men in Blue didn’t get off to the start of their dreams and had to struggle to pick wickets. However, in the third ball of the 18th over, Singh came up with an unbelievable dismissal to dismiss Jacobs.
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Arshdeep Singh channels inner footballer to dismiss Bevon Jacobs
The pacer bowled a perfect yorker on the off stumps, and Glenn Phillips managed to get his bat down in time. Jacobs, who was at the non-striker’s end, made a risky call for a quick single and ran hard, while putting in a dive to make it to the crease. However, in the meantime, Singh covered the distance quickly and kicked the ball for it to hit the stumps.
Reviews and replays showed that Jacobs’ bat was in the air due to which he was caught short of the ground. The Kiwi batter walked back at 31 runs off just 16 balls, with a combination of three sixes and a strike rate of 193.75. His knock helped the side as they put 225 runs on the board off four wickets.
Singh, making his 100th T20I appearance, is on the verge of creating another major record with the ball. He can now become the first Indian bowler to pick 150 wickets in T20Is. In the first T20I on Thursday, he picked one wicket by dismissing Daryl Mitchell for 28, and ended his spell at 1/45 from four overs.
The 27-year-old has 146 wickets thus far at an average of 20.47 and an economy rate of 8.65, and the best figures of 5/51. Not only this, but he is also just two wickets away from becoming the highest wicket-taker for India in the T20Is. In 2026, Singh has played 28 games, and has 36 for his games. Currently, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is leading the charts with 37 wickets in a single year, a record which he achieved in 2022.
