Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh wrote history by becoming the first pacer for his country to take a five-wicket haul against South Africa in their own backyard. The fast bowler achieved the feat in the first inter-team ODI at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

Arshdeep Singh proved South Africa’s decision to bat first was completely wrong. The lanky left-arm pacer was all over the Proteas batsmen and made no mistake. He aimed at impeccable lengths and made the host batsmen look clueless in their own backyard.

Arshdeep Singh got off to a great start to his innings as he picked up two wickets in the first time he bowled. After that, he didn’t look back and made the South African batsmen dance to his tune. He single-handedly shook off the first place and put his team in first position.

The Punjab player returned with figures of 5/37 in his quota of 10 overs and removed the likes of Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen and Andile Phehlukwayo. His impressive bowling helped India outplay their opponents by just 116 runs.

Arshdeep Singh, with the five-wicket haul, became the only Indian fast bowler to achieve the feat against South Africa in South Africa. He joined Indian spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja and Sunil Joshi. The fast bowler has the third-best figures of an Indian bowler in South Africa.

Here is the list of Indian bowlers with five-wicket hauls in South Africa:

Arshdeep Singh – 5 of 37 in Johannesburg in 2023

Yuzvendra Chahal 0 5 of 22 in Centurion in 2018

Ravindra Jadeja – 5 of 33 in Kolkata in 2023

Sunil Joshi – 5 out of 5 in Nairobi in 1999

Apart from Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan also had a great outing by picking up four wickets. Kuldeep Yadav was also between the wickets as he scalped one.

IND vs SA: Hadn’t opened my account in ODIs, great to start with a fifty – Arshdeep Singh after his heroics

Arshdeep Singh spoke about his performance in the ongoing match against South Africa. He admitted that he didn’t have the kind of outings he would have wanted in ODIs, but he is happy to open his account with Fifer. He highlighted the importance of adaptability in different conditions. Talking about his performance, he explained:

“I was trying to keep it simple. I had not opened my account in ODIs. Great to start with a fife. The wicket was useful. When we chatted, we thought there wouldn’t be much movement. We talked before that there won’t be much movement, but we were surprised, there was a breeze too, so the plan was to keep it from wicket to wicket and look for lbw/pitching.

“Adaptability is the key for us as bowlers. Proud to represent the country and do the job. It was also quite hot. I’m playing the 50+ format after a long time, so it was tough, but I feel fresh after the 50th. Even we thought so (that the pitch was abrasive), but there was some moisture on the wicket, so the ball remained quite new.”

Notably, Arshdeep Singh did not have great outings in the ODIs he played before this game. He was cut from the team but made an amazing comeback.