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Hardik Pandya
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya feels he has "won back" his fans following his match-winning contributions during the ICC T20 World Cup title victory in the Caribbean last year. Pandya was also repeatedly booed by the Mumbai Indian fans in the IPL last year after he replaced Rohit Sharma as the side's captain wherever he went after he decided to move from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 edition of the lucrative league. But Pandya put all the negativity behind him when the Indian team flew to the Americas for the T20 World Cup and dished out match-winning performances. He ended up scoring 144 runs and taking 11 wickets in the global tournament as India reclaimed the Cup after 2007. "They (fans) said, life for me, had come a full circle. They said, from here on, there was no looking back. I had won them (fans) back," said Pandya in a video posted by the BCCI on social media. With the Champions Trophy in full swing and India set to take on Pakistan later on Sunday,
Hardik Pandya may be an all-rounder but he holds his batting exploits close to his heart because it gives him a "wonderful feeling" every time he scores big runs and guides India to victory. Pandya produced another sterling performance with the bat in the fourth T20I against England on Friday, emerging as the joint-highest scorer with Shivam Dube on 53 runs in the match here. His half-century not only guided India to a 15-run win but also helped the hosts take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. "Batting has always been my number one (love) or close to my heart. That's a very satisfying day (on Friday), and at the same point of time before sleeping (it) gives me a wonderful feeling and I've always had a good sleep post that," the all-rounder said in a video posted by BCCI on 'X', formerly twitter. Pandya, who played a pivotal role with the ball in helping India defeat South Africa to lift the T20 World Cup in the West Indies last year, said cricket is a way of life f
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav lauded his team's resilience after a disastrous start, crediting Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube for steering the innings to a competitive total in their 15-run victory over England in the fourth T20I here on Friday. India found themselves reeling at 12/3 in the second over, but Pandya and Dube stabilised the innings, guiding the hosts to 181/9. "We didn't want to go back after 12/3. Three wickets in one over was too much. The way Hardik and Dube showed their experience was great," Suryakumar said after India's 15-run win. Highlighting India's intent, the India skipper said: "This is one thing we've been talking about -- expressing yourself and batting the same way as in the nets. I think we are moving in the right direction." Dube, however, was struck on the helmet in the final over and was substituted, paving the way for Harshit Rana's unexpected yet dream T20I debut. "I knew we could control the game after the powerplay. We picked a few wickets. Pos
The Mumbai Indians camp knew it would be difficult to get Ishan Kishan back into the fold from the Indian Premier League mega auction due to his skill set, said captain Hardik Pandya here on Sunday. The India wicketkeeper-batter did not feature in MI's retention list as the five-time champions retained former skipper Rohit Sharma, incumbent leader Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Jasprit Bumrah. Kishan was snapped up by last season's finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 11.25 crore as Mumbai Indians quit bidding on the player once it reached Rs 3.20 crore. Kishan had a base price of Rs 2 crore. "Ishan has been the freshness and the energy of the room," Pandya said in a video shared by Mumbai Indians. "When we could not retain him we always knew it was going to be difficult to get him back from the auction simply because we knew the kind of player and the kind of skill set he brings," he added. Pandya fondly recalled Kishan as MI's "pocket dynamo", whose six-year stint wit
Hardik Pandya continued his rich vein of form by smashing five sixes and scoring 28 runs in an over bowled by left-arm spinner Parvez Sultan as Baroda crushed Tripura by seven wickets in a Group B game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Friday. Chasing a meagre target of 110, Baroda rode on Hardik's 47 off 23 balls to complete the task in just 11.2 overs, after elder brother Krunal Pandya did well with the new ball to finish with figures of 2/22. The highlight for the sparse crowd was the entertainment provided by Hardik as he launched into Sultan, hitting him for three sixes between long-off and extra cover region and another two in the cow corner. Hardik has had a fantastic Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament so far with contributions in all four wins for Baroda. His sequence of scores read 74 not out, 41 not out, 69 and 47, and he has also picked up a couple of wickets along the way. Brief Scores: Tripura 109/9 in 20 overs (Mandeep Singh 50, Krunal Pandya 2/22). Baroda 115/3 in