Hardik Pandya, on Sunday (October 6), once again displayed his finishing skills as India thrashed Bangladesh by seven wickets in the first T20I to take the lead in the three-match series.
Chasing a modest total of 128 runs, India were in a fix after losing the wickets of two batsmen in quick succession. The hosts were at 65/1 at one stage before Suryakumar Yadav (29) and Sanju Samson (29) departed in short order to leave the team reeling at 80/3.
With debutant Nitish Reddy batting at the other end, the onus was on Hardik Pandya to get the team out of trouble and he did not disappoint. The former T20I vice-captain played an impressive 39-run knock to take India over the finish line.
His knock came in just 16 deliveries and was studded with five fours and two sixes. Pandya also shared an unbeaten 52-run stand with Reddy, who played the second fiddle role to perfection. Reddy remained unbeaten on 16 off 15 balls.
Hardik Pandya’s Four Strangers:
Hardik Pandya finished the game in style for Team India. In India’s 12th innings, he brought Taskin Ahmed to clean-up to take India to the finish line. The all-rounder hit the Bangladesh pacer for two fours and a six in a row to finish the game in style.
Apart from his finishing skills, Pandya also caught everyone’s attention with the four he shot at Taskin. On the fourth ball of the 12th over, Pandya ended up hitting the ball for a boundary even after completely losing his grip on the bat.
After Taskin bowled a full delivery on the stump, Pandya hit the ball hard. While doing so, he lost control of the bat and it flew towards his leg side. However, before that, the ball had hit the bat and run towards the fence, leaving everyone surprised.
Watch Hardik Pandya’s four:
#HARDIKPANDYATHE MAN ON A MISSION 💪
– 39*(16) with bat.
– 26/1(4) with ball.Indian cricket is lucky to have Hardik in white-ball cricket.#INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/7kiJnY4FHo
– Rakesh Bhakhar (@Rakeshbhakharj) October 6, 2024
Both the ball and the bat in the air! 😂🔥
Hardik ❤️🔥#INDvsBAN #HardikPandya pic.twitter.com/xp10xOx4fP—Ansu Anto (@ansuanto96) October 6, 2024
Early in the game, Bangladesh were bowled out by 127 runs. At one stage, they were reeling at 57/5 before an unbeaten knock of 35 runs from Mehidy Hasan Miraz guided them to a total of over 120. For India, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy took 3 wickets each.