Hardik Pandya returned to Wankede Stadium in Mumbai as a T20 World Cup winner among wild cheers – the same place where the crowd loudly booed him during the IPL 2024.
In a relatively new country to franchise cricket and transfers, Hardik’s move from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians and replacing the beloved Rohit Sharma as the captain was too much to take for the Indian audience.
Hardik’s performances in the IPL were poor, and the team failed miserably. Adding to this challenging situation on the field, there were also rumours of trouble in his personal life.
His selection in the Indian T20 team for the World Cup looked questionable.
The biggest question on everyone’s mind was, ‘will Pandya be in top mental shape to take on the pressures and expectations of being an all-rounder in the WC’, ‘will his fragile body hold up throughout the tournament? or ‘will he walk out injured like in the CWC 2023’?
Pandya’s brilliant performances in the World Cup answered these and other unsaid questions and made the nation proud.
His pivotal role in India’s win in the World Cup is a testament to his talent, mental strength and dedication.
Let’s look at how Hardik Pandya played a crucial role in India’s victory in the World Cup.
Bowling
Hardik’s batting prowess often overshadows his bowling. However, Indian captains, from MS Dhoni to Rohit Sharma, understand his bowling ability in white ball cricket and often have entrusted him to bowl the last over of tight run chases.
One can never forget his eventful last over in the India vs Bangladesh match in the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangalore, which helped India clinch a win from the jaws of inevitable defeat.
Hardik did something similar in this T20 World Cup, with not one but two crucial overs at the end.
Hardik’s moments from the finals
Hardik started the 16th over of South Africa’s chase, where they needed 26 runs to win off 24 balls.
Heinrich Klassen and David Miller took South Africa to an emphatic final win. The common cricketing wisdom asked bowlers to keep the ball away from Klassen’s bat to make him reach out and play away from his body.
Until then, the Indian bowlers had given Klassen too many deliveries in his arc, only to see him score a 50 off just 23 balls.
See you soon, Wankhede
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) July 4, 2024pic.twitter.com/lHOKvYdEqh
Right off the first ball of the 16th over, Hardik bowled a good length delivery away from Klassen’s stumps, asking him to reach out and cut square.
However, as Klassen does not usually move his feet across to such deliveries, he reached out from the crease and top-edged the wicketkeeper.
Klassen’s wicket at that juncture was worth in gold as South Africa had a longish tail after him.
Rohit Sharma entrusted Hardik with the last over of the finals, where South Africa needed 16 runs off six balls; David Miller was on strike.
In death overs, the bowlers try to bowl wide offside Yorkers to deny power and leverage on the ball. Hardik tried the wide yorker but ended up bowling a wide full toss to Miller.
As the ball was wide enough, Miller had to reach out and generate power down the ground from that position.
Miller only hit it less powerfully, and Surya Kumar Yadav took a memorable catch to stop the dangerous batter. After Miller’s wicket, Hardik retained his composure to ensure a big win for the Indian team.
Hardik took 11 vital wickets in this tournament at an economy rate of 7.64, with his best performance of three wickets for 20 runs coming in the final.
Hardik delivered tricky overs, often in the death, to help India restrict the chasing teams.
Batting
Pandya’s role as a lower middle-order hitter and finisher on the Indian team was crucial.
This role demands the ability to start scoring runs instantly and send the ball soaring into the boundary of almost every ball. Hardik played this role brilliantly, with an average of 48 at a strike rate of 152.
His most significant innings came against Bangladesh, scoring 50 of just 27 balls.
On a pitch that favoured the batters, he provided the big finishing punch to take the Indian score from 4/108 to an unassailable 196 at the end of the twenty overs.
This win over Bangladesh all but guaranteed India a place in the semifinals.
In the semifinals, as the English spin bowlers tied down the Indian batters and looked like they were choking them to an under-par score, Hardik scored a quickfire 23 off 13 balls to inject momentum into the Indian finish.
India managed to score an above-par 171 due to the late-order flourish of Hardik, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
Hardik’s presence in the team helped the top-order batters play freely, knowing they had a safety net.
Similarly, Hardik’s death bowling ability helped Rohit maneuver his spin bowlers in the middle overs without exposing them during the death.
Hardik Pandya’s versatility is why the selectors picked him for the World Cup, despite his poor performances in the IPL.
There is nobody in the Indian T20 setup that can offer the whole package that Pandya brings to the pitch.
Hardik Pandya’s tears at the end of the final match showcased all his pent-up emotions.
These were tears of pride for having won the cup for his country. These were tears of joy at having won his first World Cup.
These were tears of agony remembering the tough times and the boos he had to endure.
These were tears of satisfaction in proving his worth to his teammates and Captain. These were tears probably to hide all that is unknown to us.
We may not know everything on his mind, but we know, once again, that he is a magnificent player for India.
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