Mumbai: Hardik Pandya showed why he is considered to be a big-occasion player for Team India.
As the men in blue kept losing wickets at the wrong time in their T20 World Cup Super 8 match against Bangladesh at North Sound, Antigua, the allrounder produced a fantastic unbeaten half-century to guide India to an impressive 196/5 in their 20 overs.
Except for Suryakumar Yadav, who hit a six off his first ball and was caught-behind the next delivery, all other batsmen looked to be getting a significant score at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. But they all flattered to deceive, with Rohit Sharma making 23 (3×4, 1×6), Virat Kohli 37 (1×4, 3×6), Rishabh Pant 36 (4×4, 2×6) and Shivam Dube 34 (3×6).
It needed Pandya’s class and finesse to push the total close to 200, as he remained unbeaten on 50 which came in 27 balls, and included 4 fours, 3 sixes.
India, who beat Afghanistan in their first Super 8 fixture, will have a foot in the semifinals if they manage to beat Bangladesh.
