Hardik Pandya, on Saturday (June 22), enjoyed a brilliant outing with bat and ball as India thrashed Bangladesh by 50 runs in their second Super 8 game of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
The India vice-captain scored an unbeaten fifty and also picked up a wicket. Batting first, India were reeling at 108 for 4 when Hardik Pandya came out to bat. He started cautiously and let his partner Shivam Dube lead the attack on Bangladesh.
At the end of the 17th over, the India all-rounder was hitting 20 runs off 15 balls before changing gears in the last two overs after Dube’s dismissal. He completed his fifty off 27 balls on the last ball of the innings. Pandya’s 50-run knock was studded with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Later, he also had a great impact with the ball. After the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah failed to attack early, Pandya gave India the first breakthrough in the fifth over by dismissing Litton Das.
Thanks to the entire show, Pandya also created history. He became the first Indian player to complete a double of 300 runs and 20 wickets in the T20 World Cup. Pandya has scored 302 runs with the help of two fifties in 21 matches in the T20 World Cup so far. At the same time, he also got 21 wickets in those games.
The other players who have scored more than 300 runs and taken more than 20 wickets in the T20 World Cup are Shahid Afridi of Pakistan (546 runs and 39 wickets in 34 games), Shakib al Hasan of Bangladesh (853 runs and 50 wickets in 42 wickets), Dwayne Bravo of the West Indies (530 runs and 27 wickets in 27 wickets) and Shane Watson of Australia (537 runs and 22 wickets in 24 matches).
We have played good cricket: Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was named Man of the Match for his brilliant performance in the game. Speaking at the end of the match, the India star expressed his delight at the way the team has performed in the tournament so far and also spoke about his return to international cricket after a long injury layoff.
“We have played very good cricket. More than anything, we have stuck together and executed our plans. I noticed that the batsmen wanted to take advantage of the breeze, I made sure not to give them a chance where the wind was blowing, it was about being a step forward as a hitter.
“We as a group can improve in many places, losing wickets in groups is something we can rectify and improve, apart from that we look good. I have been lucky enough to play for the country, it was a “I had a strange injury, I wanted to go back, but God had other plans. Luck comes with people who work hard and that has been with me for a long time,” Pandya said.
