Dinesh Karthik's one-line tweet on Arshdeep's nightmare no-ball record in India vs Sri Lanka 2nd T20I burns the internet

Dinesh Karthik has explained why Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh failed to make an impact in his comeback match at Pune. Sri Lanka outclassed India by 16 runs to level the T20I series 1-1 on Thursday.

Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has come out in support of Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh after Sri Lanka edged past India in the series decider on Tuesday. Returning to the fold after missing out on the curtain-raiser of the three-match series, Indian pacer Arshdeep had a nightmare outing against Sri Lanka in the 2nd T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

Dinesh Karthik has explained why Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh failed to make an impact in his comeback match(AP-PTI)

Speed merchant Arshdeep bowled back-to-back three no-balls in his first over that completely shifted the momentum towards after a good first over from captain Hardik Pandya. The Indian pacer ended up bowling five no-balls to enter his name in the history books for all the wrong reasons. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer became the first Indian bowler to bowl three no-balls on the trot in his first over of a T20I match. After giving Sri Lanka the impetus to take off in the powerplay, pacer Arshdeep bowled two more no-balls to secure another dubious record.

Arshdeep has now bowled the most number of no-balls by an Indian bowler in the shortest format. With Arshdeep facing growing anger from the fans over his bowling diasterclass against Sri Lanka, veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Karthik extended his support to the under-fire fast bowler. Taking to Twitter during the 2nd T20I between India and Sri Lanka, Karthik explained why Arshdeep failed to make an impact in his comeback match at Pune. “You've got to feel for Arshdeep Singh, just lack of match practice. It's never easy,” Karthik said in his tweet.

Arshdeep didn't complete his full quota of overs in the 2nd T20I against Sri Lanka. The Indian pacer bowled only two overs and leaked 37 runs. Arshdeep's teammate Umran Malik (3) shared five wickets with Axar Patel (2) as Sri Lanka posted a match-winning total. Riding on Dasun Shanaka's quick-fire 56 off 22 balls, Sri Lanka posted 206-6 in 20 overs. Despite valiant efforts from Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav, the Shanaka-inspired Sri Lanka outclassed India by 16 runs to level the series 1-1. Shanaka was named the Player of the Match.