Hardik Pandya scored 40 off 35 balls in a losing cause for Team India in the third T20I against England at Rajkot. As it turned out, India lost the match by 26 runs and lost an opportunity for a series win.
Chasing 172 to win, Hardik Pandya walked out to bat with India at 48/3 in the sixth over. The all-rounder was 14 off his first 21 deliveries. He accelerated in the final five overs but left himself too much to do and eventually perished in the 19th over.
India lost wickets at regular intervals in the chase. Hardik did not find a partner at the other end. He top-scored with 40 in the chase. Abhishek Sharma scored a quickfire 24 while India's captain Suryakumar Yadav scored 14 off seven balls. India's loss in Rajkot meant that England have kept the series alive and have a big chance of making a comeback in the next two games.
Parthiv Patel Questions Hardik Pandya's Intent
Meanwhile, former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel while speaking to Star Sports criticised the intent with which Hardik played. He said that he took 20-25 balls to settle down which put pressure on the rest of the batters as well.
"I thought when you are taking your time you want to get used to the pace and bounce of the pitch. But you cannot take 20-25 balls to get settled. So that put pressure on the other batters as well. If you don't want to play those big shots, that's okay, but you still have to keep on rotating the strike. You can't play three or four dot balls in a row" Patel told Star Sports.
Patel also criticised Hardik for not rotating the strike as he was struggling to hit the ball. India needed almost 40 runs from the final two overs with Hardik losing his wicket in the first ball of the 19th over.
"And you might just see Hardik Pandya scoring 40 off 34 balls, but there are a number of dots in his innings that put pressure on the other batters as well. So, I think that's something which India can think of. You take your time. Yes, it's a low score, but you still have to keep rotating the strike as well with it" Parthiv Patel said further.
Meanwhile, the Indian team have been on a dream run in the T20I format winning five consecutive T20I series in the lead upto the T20 World Cup. The last time they back to back T20I matches was against West Indies in 2023. Against England, they will look to avoid their second consecutive defeat in Pune on Friday. If England wins in Pune, it will set up a classic decider in Mumbai.
