Team India had a disastrous outing with the bat against Pakistan in game 19 of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. The venue has been garnering attention for its tough batting conditions and India had to cope with Pakistan’s formidable line-up.
However, the Men in Blue did not live up to expectations as India managed a modest total of 119 runs. India got off to a disastrous start as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were dismissed in the first three overs. Naseem Shah dismissed Kohli for just 4 runs in the second over before Shaheen Afridi dismissed Rohit for 13 runs in the next over to reduce India to 19 for 2.
Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel then steadied the ship with a 39-run stand before the latter was dismissed by Naseem. It was followed by a 31-run tussle between Pant and Suryakumar Yadav. Haris Rauf broke the stand by dismissing Suryakumar Yadav for 7 and caused a collapse.
India lost wickets in a bunch and found themselves reeling at 96 for 7 off 89 for 3. Hardik Pandya was the last recognized batsman at the crease and the responsibility of guiding the team to a competitive total fell on him. However, the all-rounder also found it difficult to get going with the bat.
It took him 8 deliveries to open his account before he finally departed for 7 runs. And since the all-rounder did not do well with the bat, the fans were quick to shoot him. As soon as Haris Rauf dismissed him in the 18th over, fans took to Twitter to criticize him for his failure.
Here are some of the reactions to Hardik Pandya’s failure with the bat:
Please declare Hardik Pandya, India’s most overrated player. Whichever team he plays for, his inclusion will only weaken.
– CRaCkEr 🇮🇳 (@NaranGadhvi24) June 9, 2024
Someone tell this wannabe captain Cool Hardik that you can’t perform under the table all the time…sometimes you need the cricket field. pic.twitter.com/kArlP8n5HN
– TukTuk Academy (@TukTuk_Academy) June 9, 2024
Hardik Pandhya
Troll him here Troll him here too pic.twitter.com/uaOLgy4kIc
– Jod Insane (@jod_insane) June 9, 2024
“Hardik Pandya failed again” “And what a yaar, others were playing well, leave him alone”
“Pandya failed again” “So what, everyone else too”
“Pandya failed again” “The wife left him”
“Pandya failed again.”Always finding some excuse. “#PakvsInd #INDvsPAK #wct20 #t20USA #fail #fml
– KODNACH (@KODNACH) June 9, 2024
What is Hardik Pandya’s role in the team? Who will say it? Na what to do if he is batting, what to do when it comes to bowling.
– Deepak Singh Tomar (Modi Ka Pariwar) (@tomargreat) June 9, 2024
Believe me brother, Hardik Pandya is a key player🤡 pic.twitter.com/Jh7k4lZ5yk
– ⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) June 9, 2024
Hardik Pandya, when will you perform? 💔💔💔#tapmad #HojaoADFree #T20WorldCup #INDvsPAK pic.twitter.com/K0iuNA1rCL
– Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) June 9, 2024
Embarrassing knock by Hardik Pandya- 7 (12), most of those runs came from the outside edge, Arshdeep was the aggressor in association with him. He simply acknowledges the mistake and brings Rinku.
– Gappistan Radio (@whyteknight07) June 9, 2024
Why Hardik Pandya gave the maximum blow to Arshdeep Singh?
Why did Pandya take the single when the double is available and put Arshdeep on strike for the next over?
I can’t understand what’s happening!
—Vishal. (@SPORTYVISHAL) June 9, 2024
Talking about the game, Pakistan have had a cautious start with the bat. At the time of writing this report, they were 21 for no loss at the end of the fourth over.