India know the importance of Hardik Pandya and his role as a complete all-rounder in the white-ball set-up. In 2021, owing to his continued struggle with back injury, he had featured solely as a batter, thus robbing India of an additional bowling option in the T20 World Cup, where the the team incurred a forgettable group-stage exit. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, Hardik was out after just four games owing an injury that once again left India with a bowler short.
In the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup, the team management, in a bid to avoid lack of extra bowling options, have stuffed their line-up with as many as four all-rounders. However, Hardik remains the most crucial member of them, having picked up eight wickets and scored 116 runs, including a fifty, to help India script an unbeaten run to the semis.
On Monday, during the match against Australia, Hardik almost incurred an injury scare in the final over of the match owing to Rishabh Pant, which left him fuming. It happened in the fourth ball of the over when Hardik bowled a slower one, back of length, as Mitchell Starc, looking to play it on the off side, failed to connect. Pant collected the ball comfortably behind the stumps and took a shy at the wickets. While he missed hitting the target, the ball stung Hardik's hands, and the all-rounder was not happy at all. He shook his hands, his pain, before gesturing towards the wicketkeeper. The sight left captain Rohit Sharma frustrated as well.
It wasn't the only moment when Rohit was not happy with Pant during the match. Earlier in the second innings of the Super Eight game at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh had gloved an attempted pull shot against a bouncer from Jasprit Bumrah that ballooned and fell behind square leg. Pant had time to cover the distance and make an attempt for a catch, but he stumbled before slapping the ball away with the gloves. The sight left Rohit hurling a mouthful and Bumrah in disbelief.
{{/usCountry}}It wasn't the only moment when Rohit was not happy with Pant during the match. Earlier in the second innings of the Super Eight game at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh had gloved an attempted pull shot against a bouncer from Jasprit Bumrah that ballooned and fell behind square leg. Pant had time to cover the distance and make an attempt for a catch, but he stumbled before slapping the ball away with the gloves. The sight left Rohit hurling a mouthful and Bumrah in disbelief.
{{/usCountry}}India will next be in action on June 27 in Guyana for the second semifinal against England. Afghanistan will face South Africa in the first semifinal.