India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the superstar as he showed an extraordinary performance to assist India in winning the contest while Hardik’s knock helped the Rohit Sharma-led side chase down 148 with two balls to spare.
The most awaited high-octane clash between Pakistan and India was played on August 28 on Sunday at Dubai International Stadium. India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the superstar as he showed an extraordinary performance to assist India in winning the contest.
Hardik first took three wickets; afterward, he played a game dominating knock of 33 runs of only 17 balls to help the team India to win this game, the same opponent, against whom he had gotten injured in 2018 during the Asia Cup and was forced to miss almost three years of cricket action.
In a video shared on the official website of BCCI, Hardik can be seen chatting with Ravindra Jadeja, and he speaks about how he had gotten injured in 2018.
“I was remembering it all. I was stretchered off at the same venue against the same opponent in the 2018 Asia Cup. You feel a sense of achievement because of the things that have happened in the past, today I got an opportunity. The journey is beautiful. The fruits of our journey come to us, but behind the scenes, a lot of people do not get credit who walk along with us,”
said Hardik.
India was in a spot of trouble during their chase of 148, and it was then that Hardik held hands with Ravindra Jadeja to shape a 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Jadeja fell after scoring 35, however, Hardik guaranteed that the side left with a triumph.
“I was thinking that seven runs in the final over are not that steep a challenge. The left-arm spinner was bowling and there were five fielders inside the ring. This all did not matter to me, even if 10 fielders were standing at the boundary, it would not have mattered as I had to hit a big shot. In the entire innings, I just showed emotion once and it was when you got out. I was not feeling the pressure as I knew the pressure is clearly on the bowler. I knew he would bowl back of a length delivery,”
said Hardik.
Talking about the victory, Jadeja said:
“It was very important. I was promoted higher up the order. I was looking to take my chances against the spinners. We formed a partnership, it was important and we were chatting about backing our strengths.”
