Chennai, Feb 13 (IANS) USA’s spin-bowling all-rounder Harmeet Singh credited patience and sticking to his strengths after producing the best bowling figures for the team in a T20 World Cup match to set up a 93-run win over the Netherlands in a Group A clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Harmeet was named Player of the Match for his decisive spell of 4/21, which broke the backbone of the Dutch chase as they were bowled out for 103 in pursuit of 197. His strikes in the middle overs ensured there was no way back for the Netherlands after the USA had posted 196/6.

Reflecting on the conditions and his approach, Harmeet, after receiving the award, said, “When I first saw the wicket in the first innings, the ball was holding a bit – even when I went in to bat. So the plan was to really spin the ball. During the Powerplay, when I bowled, it gripped a couple of times straight away, so I decided to trust that and not change too much. It was almost like a one-day plan – staying patient and backing my strengths.”

The left-armer revealed that there was constant communication with the skipper about exploiting the surface, especially when the opposition attempted to counterattack.

“Yes, absolutely. That was the conversation we had during the innings – that there was assistance if we were willing to give the ball some spin. So whenever we were under pressure, the idea was to go back to spinning the ball rather than forcing anything,” he mentioned.

USA’s bowlers were defending a formidable total set up by a fluent 79 from Saiteja Mukkamalla and a late flourish from Shubham Ranjane. Harmeet acknowledged the platform laid by the batters, which allowed him the freedom to attack.

“Full credit to the batters. Saiteja gave us a fantastic start, and Shubham finished it off beautifully. They gave us a great total to work with, which allowed me to go out there, bowl with freedom, and really spin the ball. There’s been a lot of talk about us, but I think we’ve shown that we belong here. We’ve already shown what we can do, and today I think we proved that we can do it with the ball as well,” he concluded.

With both bat and ball clicking in unison, the USA delivered a commanding performance, and Harmeet’s match-winning spell stood out as the defining act of the evening.

–IANS

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