India have kept the five-match T20I series against West Indies alive by winning the third match in style and the win must have brought some relief to captain Hardik Pandya as questions were being raised about his leadership after defeats in the the first two games.
With a 7-wicket win though, India have bounced back in style.
Chasing 160, Pandya smashed the final six to seal the deal in 17.5 overs.
However, his finishing shot denied Tilak Verma a chance to complete his second-consecutive half-century in maiden T20I series. The youngster remained unbeaten on 49.
Pandya arrived at the crease following the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav, joining forces with Tilak. At that point, India needed only 39 runs in 44 balls to complete the chase.
The pair proceeded to take India over the line comfortably.
The equation came down to 2 runs off 14 balls when Pandya received a juicy outside-off delivery from Rovman Powell. The Indian skipper whacked the ball over long-on, sending it into the crowd for a massive six.
Pandya’s final shot did not go down well with a section of Indian fans.
According to them, the all-rounder could rotate the strike rather than hitting the six as it would have helped Tilak get to his fifty.
A lot of critical comments surfaced on Twitter, underlining Pandya’s “selfish” act. A fan labelled Pandya’s finishing hit as the “most hated six.”
Most hated 6 by #HardikPandya #INDvsWI #TilakVarma #BCCI pic.twitter.com/U7WVQrN4xC— Lexicopedia (@lexicopedia1) August 8, 2023
Comparisons were drawn between Pandya and India’s World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni.
During a game against South Africa in the 2014 T20 World Cup, India needed just one run to win the match. But the former skipper defended his first ball so that Virat Kohli could get the chance to finish things off.
Kohli played a match-winning 68-run knock in the game.
https://twitter.com/karthikponnuri/status/1688973351639977984
https://twitter.com/Ctrlmemes_ /status/1688975523094081536
A fan shared a hilarious meme in reference to the match-winning shot.
Hardik Pandya be like pic.twitter.com/C80fy9A2ES— Sagar (@sagarcasm) August 9, 2023
Here are some other reactions:
#INDvsWI #WIvsINDyou idolize MS Dhoni, and still you did not care to give strike to young Tilak Varma despite being the captain? When he was batting at 49* ?You can never be like him.#HardikPandya pic.twitter.com/wHJSB0hcyD— ????????????????️ (@superking1816) August 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/45Fan_ Prathmesh/status/1688970664278151168
Hardik Pandya is the most selfish cricketer till date.Could’ve given a single to let that young lad Tilak get his fifty but nah he wants to be a finisher and show off pic.twitter.com/zWJhhNQHid
— leisha (@katyxkohli17) August 8, 2023
Tilak has already scored 139 runs in three games so far.
In the third match, he stitched a match-winning 87-run stand with Suryakumar to lay the foundation for a comfortable win.
Suryakumar was the star performer for India, registering a quickfire 83 off 44 balls. The Men in Blue will hope to level the series in the fourth T20I, which is slated to be held on August 12.
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