My dad cursed West Indies batters: Arshdeep recalls watching SA vs WI in Chennai

T20 World Cup: Between bowling India to victory and managing his father's mid-match meltdowns, Arshdeep Singh had quite the Thursday. Here, the seamer recalls the hotel room drama as he watched South Africa's clinical win over the West Indies with his father, a result that boosted India's semi-final chances.

Much like the thousands of fans glued to their television sets hours before India’s Super 8 clash against Zimbabwe began, the Indian squad was also intently following the first match of Thursday’s double-header: South Africa vs West Indies in Ahmedabad. While India required nothing less than a victory over Zimbabwe in Chennai, they also leaned on South Africa to defeat the Windies to ensure the Men in Blue’s path to the semi-final became somewhat less treacherous.

Arshdeep Singh and his father, Darshan, watched the drama unfold from their hotel room in Chennai.

Speaking to the media in the mixed zone after bowling India to a memorable victory over Zimbabwe, Arshdeep recalled the experience of watching the afternoon game. In his inimitable style, the seamer added a touch of humour, admitting he had to calm his father down when the elder Singh began hurling colourful language at the screen every time a West Indies batter cleared the rope.

"We didn’t watch the whole thing, but it was certainly a see-saw affair," Arshdeep joked.

"My family was with me in the hotel room and whenever the West Indies batters smashed a six, my father started shouting: ‘What on earth are you doing?’. He was hurling abuse. I had to settle him down and tell him not to get so worked up. I told him to just enjoy the cricket and keep praying for a South African win."

South Africa had won the toss and elected to field at the Narendra Modi Stadium—the same venue where India had been hammered by 76 runs by the Proteas just days prior. The West Indies, meanwhile, arrived full of confidence following a dominant win over Zimbabwe in Mumbai where they had posted a massive 254.