India head coach Gautam Gambhir was furious after Arshdeep Singh completely lost control of his line during the second T20I between India and South Africa on Thursday, December 11 in Mullanpur. The left-arm
pacer appeared rattled after Quinton de Kock launched the first ball of the 11th over for a six, and his attempt to compensate resulted in a barrage of wides.
He tried to bowl wide outside off to restrict the scoring, and misfired repeatedly, delivering two wides before managing a dot ball. What followed was even more chaotic, as he proceeded to bowl four consecutive wides, prompting an angry reaction from Gambhir in the dugout. Captain Suryakumar Yadav and senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah were also seen walking up to the bowler to calm him down and guide him.
Gambhir’s animated expressions quickly went viral on social media, even before Arshdeep completed the over. By the time he finished, Arshdeep had bowled 13 deliveries, the most by an Indian bowler in a T20I over. He also became the first bowler from a full-member nation to concede seven wides in a single over. The previous record was held by Naveen-ul-Haq, who bowled six wides in an over last year.
No matter the situation, abusing a youngster is never justified. Shame on Gautam Gambhir for his actions towards Arshdeep Singh 😔#INDvsSA #ArshdeepSingh
pic.twitter.com/ndaHADwBTw— Arjun 💫 (@hardiknation) December 11, 2025
It was a rare off day in the field for Arshdeep. He lost his composure, and even the crowd grew restless as they waited for the over to end. Indian captain eventually took him off the attack, with Shivam Dube coming on as his replacement.
India currently lead the five-match T20I series 1-0, having won the opening fixture in Cuttack thanks to Hardik Pandya’s fiery knock and all-round bowling effort, sealing the match by 101 runs. South Africa will look to bounce back after Quinton de Kock’s brilliant 90 off 46 balls, which included five fours and seven sixes.
Reflecting on the overall tour, South Africa dominated the two-match Test series, whitewashing India 2-0 and claiming their first Test series win over India in 25 years. In the ODIs, India came out on top 2-1, powered by Virat Kohli’s exceptional form, with two centuries and a half-century across the three matches. Both teams will now aim to finish strong in the T20I series, hoping to clinch the shorter-format title.







