Hardik Pandya rediscovered his form and confidence in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
On a personal front, Hardik endured a dismal campaign with both bat and ball, scoring just 216 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 143.05 without a half-century. While he managed to claim 11 wickets, it came at an average of 35.18 and an economy rate of 10.75.
However, the T20 World Cup 2024 marked a turning point, as the Indian all-rounder rediscovered his form and confidence.
On Saturday (June 22), Hardik Pandya produced a Player-of-the-Match performance in India’s Super 8 fixture of the ongoing T20 World Cup against Bangladesh in Antigua.
Batting at No. 6, Pandya slammed 50* off 27 balls while he managed to claim the prized scalp of Litton Das with the ball.
"I have been fortunate to play for the country, it was a freak injury I had, I wanted to come back but God had other plans," the Indian vice-captain said at the post-match presentation.
During the ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh last year, Pandya unfortunately suffered an ankle injury that forced him out of action for nearly five months.
"I was speaking to our coach Rahul sir (Dravid) and he said 'Luck comes to people who work hard' and that has stuck with me for a long time," he added.
Team India continued their unbeaten run in the tournament as they thrashed Bangladesh by 50 runs and inched closer to securing a spot in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
Invited to bat first, the Men in Blue racked up 196/5 on the board, courtesy of Hardik Pandya’s fifty and crucial contributions from Rohit Sharma (23 off 11), Virat Kohli (37 off 28), Rishabh Pant (36 off 24) and Shivam Dube (34 off 24).
With the ball, India restricted the Tigers to 146/8 in 20 overs. Kuldeep Yadav (3-19) dented the Bangladesh batting line-up with three wickets in his four overs. Jasprit Bumrah (2-13 in 4 overs) and Arshdeep Singh (2-30 in 4 overs) also returned with two scalps each.
“We have played really good cricket. More than anything we have stuck together and executed our plans. I did realise the batters wanted to use the breeze, I made sure I did not give them a chance where the wind was blowing, it was about being one step ahead as a batter,” Hardik stated.
“We as a group can get better in a lot of places, losing wickets in bunches is something we can rectify and get better at, apart from that, we are looking good,” he further remarked.