The all-around player for the Indian cricket team, Hardik Pandya, had a terrible IPL 2024 season. The Mumbai Indians could only muster four wins in the competition despite Hardik’s selection as captain prior to the season. Experts and fans criticized Pandya for his lack of form, which put him under scrutiny as a player as well as a captain.
But in India’s opening T20 World Cup 2024 match against Ireland, he got three wickets and looked in excellent form. The All-rounder’s ability to bowl four overs in a row was praised by legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar, who also expressed admiration for him.
“When you are playing for India it’s huge. It’s humongous. The way he was running in, what was impressive was that he bowled his four overs on the trot. Not that he bowled two overs and took a break. That is a test that also had to be run. He has also come through that test very, very impressively.”
As Ireland was bowled out for just 96 runs, Hardik concluded the game with stats of 3/27. In response, Rohit Sharma hammered home a half-century to quickly defeat the object.
“Always special to play for the country, always good to play for pride. I have been able to contribute in the World Cups, god has been kind. That was an outstanding effort by Axar, those are the catches when you let your hand-eye co-ordination let in. I really liked the first wicket, don’t hit the stumps often as I usually bowl short of a length. I needed to be fuller than the back of the length today. On this kind of surface you need to be disciplined and hit the right areas. It’s always fantastic to see the crowd, we Indians are everywhere, we rule the world, good to have their support,” Hardik said after the Ireland innings.