Arshdeep Singh explained the personal significance of his celebration after dismissing Henry Nicholls in Auckland.

The left-arm pacer picked up four wickets to lead India's pace attack in the series opener.

Arshdeep Singh grabbed attention during the first ODI between India and New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday, November 4. The left-arm pacer celebrated animatedly after dismissing Henry Nicholls in the ninth over, with his reaction standing out during India’s bowling effort.

While the celebration initially appeared to be an expression of excitement after taking a wicket, Arshdeep later revealed that it had a special meaning behind it. The Indian pacer also enjoyed an impressive outing with the ball, finishing with four wickets.

Arshdeep Singh explains the meaning behind his celebration

Arshdeep dismissed Nicholls with the third delivery of the ninth over. The New Zealand batter attempted to pull a back-of-a-length delivery but hit it straight into the hands of Naman Dhir at mid-wicket. Nicholls departed for nine runs off 11 balls, having struck two boundaries. The wicket triggered an animated celebration from Arshdeep, who later explained that the dance steps were a shared gesture between him and his girlfriend, Samreen Kaur, an actress and model based in Punjab.

“That celebration is for my girlfriend. We do these dance steps when we’re out walking or something like that. Whenever the mood is a little low, we cheer each other up with that celebration. So this was for her,” Arshdeep said between innings on air.

Here’s the video:

Arshdeep gets Jamieson, and adds another celebration to his ever-growing collection! 😂

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Arshdeep leads India’s pace attack with four wickets

Arshdeep made an immediate impact in the series opener, dismissing Will Young before sending Nicholls back to the pavilion. He continued to trouble the New Zealand batters in his later spell, picking up the wickets of Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson. With Mohammed Siraj absent from the playing XI, the left-arm pacer led India’s pace attack and finished with figures of 4/70 in his 10 overs.

It was his second four-wicket haul in ODIs for India. Speaking about the conditions at Eden Park, Arshdeep said he enjoyed bowling in New Zealand after coming from the subcontinent, highlighting the assistance available from the surface and the wind.