Team India has taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ongoing 5-match series against New Zealand. They won the third game by seven wickets despite the fact that the Kiwis improved their overall performance which wasn’t even enough to compete with the Men in Blue. The fact that their already strong bowling got a massive boost due to Hardik Pandya’s return worked in India’s favor and they bundled out the hosts for 243.
Hardik made an immediate impact in the comeback game by grabbing an excellent catch to send back Kane Williamson in the 17th over. A sensational fielding effort rubbed on his bowling as well and it never felt like he was away from the game from last four months. Eventually, he returned with the figures of 2/45 from his 10-over spell.
WATCH – Kiwi Batsmen Ran Four Runs And Hardik Gets A Wicket
Pandya also received praises from skipper Virat Kohli also as he asserted that his presence gives an amazing balance to the team. During the suspension period though, the all-rounder seems to have realized the hard yards of the life and didn’t do anything out of the ordinary in his celebrations as well.
Even Kohli pointed out the importance of respecting the game while speaking about Hardik’s return to the highest level. He hoped that the all-rounder comes out as a better cricketer after the controversial incident which ruined his start of 2019. Hardik would now be looking forward to continuing his performance in the same vein for the rest of the tour. He will also be looking forward to batting in the coming games.
WATCH – Hardik Pandya Takes A Stunner In His International Cricket Return
Despite going through a lot of criticism, Pandya was a center of attraction today and was praised by the fans for letting his performance do the talking. Many showered praises for his flying catch and his bowling which never let the opponent up the ante. He was thankful to everyone after the game and expressed himself on Twitter about the same.
Here’s his tweet:
Thank you 🙏 pic.twitter.com/rzIKQX7ELx
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) January 28, 2019
