“I think you should put that topic about my body to rest” – Hardik Pandya had urged ahead of ongoing India vs Pakistan clash at the T20 World Cup 2022. From being taken off the field on a stretcher to now representing the Indian cricket team on the biggest stage once again – Hardik Pandya has come a long way. And he stood tall to his words as he bowled a mesmerizing spell to help the Indian cricket team restrict the arch-rivals to a total of after the first innings.
Hardik Pandya turned out to be a lifesaver for captain Rohit Sharma in their high-voltage clash as he once again proved why he is regarded so highly in the cricket world.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first. Arshdeep Singh gave a brilliant start to the Indian side by picking the wicket of Babar Azam for a first-ball duck and then sent back Mohammad Rizwan cheaply as well.
Then Iftikhar Ahmed (51) and Shan Masood added 76 runs for the third wicket to bring momentum to the game. Iftikhar smashed 4 sixes in his knock, 3 of which came in one over of Akshar Patel. However, Mohammad Shami got his LBW to end his dangerous innings.
But then Hardik Pandya came into play and he just stole the show with his stunning performance. He picked the important wickets of Shadab Khan (5) and Haider Ali (2) in the same over and then also accounted for Mohammad Nawaz for 9 runs, who looked dangerous.
Hardik Pandya, who has always done well with the ball, once again impressed everyone with his bowling. He finished with figures of 3/30 in his 4 overs. While he was brilliant throughout his spell, however, it was the wicket of Haider Ali that caught everyone’s attention.
After accounting for Haider’s wicket, Pandya gave a smiling reaction to the outgoing batsman, which soon became viral on the internet. The video of the same has been going viral on the internet. Watch it here:
GOLD pic.twitter.com/SHmnCTQpxY
— mon (@4sacinom) October 23, 2022
Meanwhile, ahead of the India vs Pakistan clash, Hardik was asked about his body and fitness. Responding to this he urged people to stop questioning his body and fitness, saying that he is fit and ready to bowl in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. He said: “Have many fond memories here. I made my T20I debut in Australia, and from there the journey has continued. It’s good to be back here, you can’t get a better place to play sports and enjoy. My body is fine, I think you should put that topic about my body to rest, you will see me bowling,”
He added: “We are playing international cricket, it’s not only about Pakistan bowlers. Any team which is playing will have quality bowing at this level, international cricket has certain standards. So we all are aware about it and as a batting unit, we have had a word about it. We have worked very hard to come here. The team that plays well wins the contest,”
