Arshdeep Singh was not only a hero for India in the final T20I against Australia but he became a villain for umpire Virender Sharma. The match referee was hit on the thigh during the rubber match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

During the fifth ball of the last over, Arshdeep Singh bowled a full toss, which was drilled strongly by Nathan Ellis. The fast bowler extended his right hand and the ball deflected to slow down. And then the ball hit the referee in the thigh.

Here is the video:

When the referee is relieved that the impact is not in line 😅#INDvAUS #IDFCFirstBankT20ITrofeo #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/APx54c3s2l

— Sports18 (@Sports18) December 3, 2023

Coming into the match, India won the game by a margin of 6 runs. They clinched the series by a 4-1 margin and started their journey towards the T20 World Cup 2024 on a high. Arshdeep Singh was the star of the team as he defended 10 runs in the final and won the game for his team.

Arshdeep Singh did not get off to a great start with the ball as the Australian batsmen took him to cleanliness. However, he made a strong comeback in the last over. Mukesh Kumar also contributed and picked three wickets.

Earlier, India did not have a great performance with the bat. Yashasvi Jaiswal (21) lost his early wicket and then Ruturaj Gaikwad (10) also died. Shreyas Iyer (53) played a vital knock and batted till the last as the wickets continued to circle around him. Jitesh Sharma (24) and Axar Patel (31) supported him well as India posted a total of 160 runs on the board.

IND vs AUS: Thank God I defended him – Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh spoke about the last over and said that he thought he had given away runs in the first three overs. He also spoke about the conversation with captain Suryakumar Yadav and said that he will learn a lot from this series. He added:

“I was thinking I gave away too many runs (in the first three overs) and was hoping for another chance, and thank God I defended it and also thank you to the staff who believed in me.

“Surya (before bowling the final) told me that whatever happens, let it happen, and the credit also goes to the batsmen. We had a cushion of 15 to 20 runs and it was definitely more than even. By the standards we have set as an Indian team, it wasn’t close (talking about his performances in this series), but there is a lot to learn and I hope to come back stronger.”

The next time India will be seen in action will be when they tour South Africa.