There is no doubt about the fact that Hardik Pandya is one of the most popular Indian cricketers going around. Whether it is his pyrotechnics with the bat, his acrobatic fielding or his off the field antics, Hardik Pandya somehow manages to add to his fan base with each passing days. The one’s present at the Dy Patil T20 Cup final got the first-hand proof of that. Thousands of fans swarmed inside the DY Patil stadium after the final between Reliance 1 and Indian Oil. Hardik Pandya’s team Reliance 1 lost the match by 11 runs but the fans did not care about that. They swarmed inside the stadium. And all of them had only name on their lips - Hardik Pandya.
Hardik Pandya was dismissed for a duck in the final but earlier in the day, he had slammed a 55-ball 158 in Reliance 1’s semi-final clash against BPCL. After the culmination of the final, thousands of fans invaded the pitch, chanting “Hardik, Hardik” as the noise reverberated in the stadium. Some of the fans even came near the Reliance 1 dressing room to get a glimpse of Hardik.
The Mumbai all-rounder has been in great form in the tournament. Before Friday’s breath-taking innings, Hardik had earlier scored 105 against CAG in a Group C encounter few days ago.
The 26-year-old is all set to return to the national team for the ODI series against South Africa that gets underway in Dharamsala on March 12. “He is fit and is set to return to the national team. Having first undergone rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and now his performance in the T20 tournament has pretty much made it clear that he is fit to return to the fold,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by IANS.
{{/usCountry}}The 26-year-old is all set to return to the national team for the ODI series against South Africa that gets underway in Dharamsala on March 12. “He is fit and is set to return to the national team. Having first undergone rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and now his performance in the T20 tournament has pretty much made it clear that he is fit to return to the fold,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by IANS.
{{/usCountry}}The DY Patil T20 tournament worked as the perfect training ground for the all-rounder who has been working on his back ever since he underwent surgery in the UK in October.Speaking on his fitness, Pandya said: “For me it is a good platform to see where I am currently and test my body. I am really happy with the way things have gone.”
As for his blistering tons, Pandya said he keeps things simple. “If it’s there in my arc, I just back myself and go for it. Most of the time, it comes out pretty well. There is no plan that I am going to go out there and smash it.”
The all-rounder last featured for India in a T20I against South Africa in Bengaluru in September, 2019.
In DY Patil T20 Cup final, Dhawan (69 off 41 balls; 6x4, 2x6) single-handedly steered his team’s chase as all other Reliance 1 batsmen faltered.
The three India players Dhawan, Hardik and Bhuvneshvar Kumar were making comebacks to competitive cricket in this tournament after sustaining injuries.
Dhawan was caught in a horrible mix up and was run out. This eventually led to Reliance 1’s loss.
Hardik gave a sitter off Siddhesh Lad.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was expensive with figures of 0/50 from his four overs in the final.
However, for his show in the entire tournamemt, Hardik won three awards -- Maximum Sixes, Best Batsman and Player of the Tournament.
Pawan Negi was injured while batting, after being hit on his face when he was trying to make a pull shot. He was immediately taken off the field.