While everyone is talking about the Indian players after India’s win over Australia in Nagpur, Hardik Pandya was the first to take note of and praise the ground-staff at the VCA Stadium who made the match possible when, at a point, some even felt that the game could be called off.
The match was delayed by two hours! And not because of rain – there had been no rain throughout the day – but because of the wet outfield that was caused by the rain from the previous night!
It is quite shocking and unbelievable that the ground authorities haven’t been able to dry up the wet patches despite there being no rain throughout the day. There were little patches across the outfield and a big wet patch at the bowler’s run-up, the primary cause of concern and reason for the toss, and hence the match, being delayed for so long.
Finally, the umpires deemed it non-threatening for the bowlers to get the match underway at 9.30 PM IST, two hours after the scheduled time.
Hardik Pandya’s tweet for the ground staff in Nagpur
After the match, Hardik Pandya took to Twitter to thank and appreciate the relentless hard work of the VCA Stadium’s ground staff to make an 8-over match possible.
“A big thank you to the ground staff for all their efforts in making tonight’s match happen,” Pandya tweeted.
Here, check out Hardik Pandya’s tweet that highlighted the golden heart of India’s golden all-rounder:
A big thank you to the ground staff for all their efforts in making tonight’s match happen 🙏 🤗 pic.twitter.com/42bTSJxSCI
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) September 23, 2022
Hardik, who has smashed 71* in the first T20I in Mohali, had a poor game in Nagpur. In the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik bowled the first over of the match and conceded 10 runs. With the bat, he largely struggled and scored 9 runs in 9 balls when India were chasing 92 in 8 overs. His innings could have cost India the match by skipper Rohit Sharma and finisher Dinesh Karthik sealed the deal at the end,
Axar Patel was again India’s best bowler – returning with terrific figures of 2/13 in 2 overs in a game where runs were scored at over 11 runs an over. The left-arm spinner castled two of Australia’s most destructive batters – Glenn Maxwell and Tim David. Also impressive was the returning Jasprit Bumrah. In his first over on return to international cricket after two months, Bumrah bowled Australian skipper Aaron Finch with a stunning yorker. Finch scored 31 off 15 and Matthew Wade smashed 43 off 20 to take the visitors to 90 in 8 overs.
Chasing 91 in 8 overs, Sharma played a blistering knock of 46* off 20 balls. KL Rahul scored 10 off 6, Virat Kohli 11 off 6; Suryakumar Yadav bagged a first-ball duck and Hardik Pandya struggled for his run-a-ball 9.
With 9 runs needed off the last 6 balls, Dinesh Karthik smoked Daniel Sams for a six and a four to complete the chase. Rohit Sharma was named as the Player of the Match for his brilliant knock.
