Whenever quality teams feel the real struggle, their biggest assets often manage to rescue the tea, to bring their side back in the contest. Such a scenario happened on Tuesday when West Indies openers were cruising well against India in the third T20I until Hardik Pandya came into the attack and struck immediately.
India seemed to be on the back foot on Tuesday against West Indies at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts. After Rohit Sharma won the toss and asked West Indies to bat, Brandon King and Kyle Mayers got their side off to a blazing start. The dynamic Windies opener went past 50 runs without losing their wickets and it looked like they were on the way to taking a crucial 2-1 lead.
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But India got the much-needed breakthrough in the eighth over, bowled by none other than the flamboyant all-rounder, Hardik Pandya. The second ball was comparatively slower that was pitched on a good length delivery. King, batting on run-a-ball 20, went for a slog, only to see the leg-stump going for a cartwheel. With that, Hardik — the man in form — got his 50th T20I wicket as well in just 47 innings.
Here is the video of the wicket taken by Hardik Pandya:
A much-needed breakthrough from @hardikpandya7. #BrandonKing dismissed!
Watch all the action from the India tour of West Indies LIVE, only on #FanCode 👉 https://t.co/RCdQk12YsM@BCCI @windiescricket #WIvIND #INDvsWIonFanCode #INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/gdIl2Nxh5C
— FanCode (@FanCode) August 2, 2022
West Indies (Playing XI): Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Devon Thomas (wk), Rovman Powell, Dominic Drakes, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy
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India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh
Here is how the Indian fans reacted after the wicket taken by Hardik Pandya:
https://twitter.com/Princettweets/status/1554508091877572609?s=20&t=9SG5C7-Sf4qjfc7iH-lzEQ
https://twitter.com/ictcricket22/status/1554507597616533504?s=20&t=hH9915IuPx_nLZMsyFHx9Q
https://twitter.com/AnmolMa74473063/status/1554507561289793537?s=20&t=FiHzU90duZH_xZjecdXTjQ
Hardik Pandya ke Bowling Ek Dum Jhakas ho gaye hain..
— MastAadmi 🇮🇳 (Stay Safe)🐤 (@EkMastAadmi) August 2, 2022
Indian players to score 500 runs and pick 50 wickets in T20Is ⬇️
Hardik Pandya
*End of list*
— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) August 2, 2022
Hardik Pandya The Confidence He Built Is Immensely Incredible 💥
— Mamik (@Mamik_bathula) August 2, 2022
Hardik Pandya whenever India needs a breakthrough these days:#CricketTwitter #WIvsIND pic.twitter.com/9j04ENv1ru
— Sky11 (@sky11official) August 2, 2022
At last, Hardik gets a breakthru.
BTW, Akshay Kumar wants Hardik Pandya to change his name to Harpic Pandya.
— Jose Puliampatta (Prof. Bala) (@JosePuliampatta) August 2, 2022
Hardik Pandya has dismissed openers six times in T20Is + ODIs in 2022.#WIvIND
— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) August 2, 2022
