T20 World Cup: Arshdeep reveals his plan for Pakistan batters

MELBOURNE: India's young pacer Arshdeep Singh shined against Pakistan during the much-awaited T20 World Cup 2022 clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Arshdeep gave India an early breakthrough after dismissing Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for a golden duck. The left-armer dismissed Mohammad Rizwan with a short ball after he had scored four runs off 12 balls.

The youngster's opening spell left Pakistan in trouble as they were 15-2 in the first four overs.

However, middle-order batters, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood delivered on the big stage, scoring half-century each. 

At the mid-innings break, Arshdeep talked about the Men in Blue's plan for the blockbuster clash. 

"We wanted to make use of the long square boundaries, so the plan was to hit the wickets and the pads," he said.

"I just wanted to enjoy the moment. I guess it’ll never come again, so I just wanted to enjoy myself and have fun," he added.

Before Mohammed Shami trapped Ahmed in front of the stumps, Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, and Mohammad Nawaz all fell to Hardik Pandya within 19 runs.

On the fourth ball of his second spell, Arshdeep dismissed Asif Ali after the latter found himself in a difficult position while trying to avoid the short ball. 

The Men in Green posted a 160-run target for India.