Mumbai Indians was reeling against Chennai Super Kings at a point when they were 125/5 in 18 overs. They were likely to stretch their total to around 150. But Hardik Pandya was in some mood and came out with all guns blazing. He played a cameo of 25 runs in just 8 balls, where he hit one four and three towering six. One of these sixes was scored by iconic Helicopter Shot, which Hardik played with perfection.
MS Dhoni, the inventor of the shot, was sitting right behind Hardik when he deposited one ball into the stand. But Dhoni was unmoved by this amazing shot and Hardik expressed his displeasure as he wanted Dhoni to give him an applause for it.
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Talking about the shot, Pandya said “Very special, I have been working on that shot (helicopter). After playing that shot I was kind of proud, I was expecting MS to come and say ‘good shot’. Generally, people like to bowl at the stumps against me. It’s a shot which is not easy but I have seen MS hitting them so many times.”
Special to hit helicopter shot with @msdhoni watching: Hardik
"Hoped MS would congratulate me after that shot 😜"
An overjoyed @hardikpandya7 talks about emulating inspiration MSD's pet stroke against CSK. Interview by @Moulinparikh #MIvCSK @mipaltan📹 https://t.co/jLLWXuZRYe pic.twitter.com/aci6s6cPBF
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 4, 2019
He added, “He is an inspiration and we try to copy a lot of shots which he plays and this is one of the shots which I’ve copied from him and quite happy that it came out well.”
Indian Premier League’s Twitter account posted a video interview of Pandya, where he praised Kieron Pollard, who took two amazing catches after playing a 7-ball cameo where he scored 17 runs including two sixes.
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“He is a special cricketer. He is very dear to us, he’s like a brother to me. He’s a match-winner no matter if he is batting, bowling or fielding. Whenever you put him in the spot he will deliver. According to me, he is an MI legend,” Pandya quoted.
The 25-year-old all-rounder also talked about his last seven months, where he was under the hot water for most of the times. First, he got injured playing the Asia Cup 2018 in UAE and made a comeback just before the Australia tour. He was in the Test squad but couldn’t make it to the playing XI. Afterwards, Koffee with Karan controversy erupted and he was snubbed from the Indian team.
Mumbai won the game by 37 runs as they restricted Chennai for just 133/8 in 20 overs.
