Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder of the Indian team, once again proved his greatness with the bat during the IND vs SA 5th T20I match. Pandya was the star of the match with a blazing 25-ball 63 at an amazing strike rate of 252 that included five fours and five sixes, and he was India’s hero leading to the winning of the series over South Africa 3-1 in the five-match series.
Pandya was attacking from the start and gave a slight hint of the destruction he was going to cause. His first ball was a six and he hit the cameraman with it too!
When the 32-year-old was asked about his batting mentality he said that he had happened to predict earlier in the match that the first ball would have to be deposited over the boundary.
Hardik said in the post-match presentation, “Today I just felt it. I actually told my teammate and partner beforehand that I was going to step out first ball and try to hit it for six. I was confident it would come off. The situation suited my style; I backed myself and it worked. I took a calculated risk and thankfully it went my way.”
India’s Hardik Pandya, with his astonishing batting performance, became the first Indian in the T20I format to score 2000 runs and take 100 wickets. However, he was just 61 runs away from the landmark before the match, but his rapid fifty guaranteed that Pandya’s name would be in the list of those who have done it.
To highlight one more point, Pandya was also the second fastest Indian to reach a T20I fifty just by 16 balls, with only Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball record in 2007 being the fastest.
Moreover, Pandya was not only a batting force, his bowling was equally effective and he got one wicket which eventually led to his being awarded the Player of the Match.
The outstanding form of Hardik Pandya is going to be a major advantage for India when they prepare to reclaim their T20 World Cup title during the co-hosting of the T20 World Cup 2026 in February next year.
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