‘Calm as ever’ – Twitter hails Hardik Pandya for his match-winning performance
India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in what was a humdinger of a match in the Asia Cup 2022. Hardik Pandya was India’s hero at the marquee clash. With six runs required off three deliveries, Pandya was cool as a cucumber as he pulled the fourth delivery of Mohammed Nawaz over the deep midwicket boundary for a six and took his team home.
On a pitch where the batters were finding it difficult to get going, Hardik scored 33 runs off 17 balls at a strike rate of 194.12. Not just with the bat, the ace-all-rounder proved his worth with the ball. He changed the game for the Men in Blue in his spell in the middle overs. The 28-year-old dented Pakistan’s progress by taking three crucial wickets of Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdil Shah, and Iftikhar Ahmed.
The Indian allrounder was regarded as the difference maker between both sides and social media went berserk when Pandya took India home. The calmness and composure he portrayed was praised by fans all over the globe. The Indian player was the middle overs enforcer for his team with the ball and the finisher with the bat. The Indian wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik was spotted bowing to Hardik when he sealed the game with a six. The opposition skipper Babar Azam too praised the ace-allrounder in the post-match interview.
India was in a precarious position with a score of 89 for 4 in 14.2 overs and needed some calm heads in the middle. They found them in the form of Ravindra Jadeja and Pandya. The former scored a valuable 35 from 29 balls but got out on the first ball of the final over but the fast-bowling all-rounder finished the game for his side.
The ace-Indian batter Virat Kohli also had a decent outing with the bat and scored a well-made 35. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the star with the ball, with his bowling figures of 4-0-26-4. Arshdeep Singh, too, was amongst the wickets and ended his spell with 2-33.
Here’s how Twitter reacted after Hardik sealed the game for India:
Calm as ever, and with incredible skill, Hardik Pandya takes India home. In this form, few better than him in this format.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 28, 2022
Take a bow #HardikPandya 🙌🏻 what a cool head in the heat…shows what captaincy in the IPL has brought in him 👏🏻 rockstar for a reason 🔥 #INDvsPAK #AsiaCup2022 #IndvPak pic.twitter.com/UJo3um53ym
— Baidurjo Bhose (@bbhose) August 28, 2022
Hardik Pandya – what a cricketer!
– 3/25 with the ball.
– 33* (17) with the bat.– The hero for India, a big match player. pic.twitter.com/la61kbfVFZ
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 28, 2022
The man, The myth, The Legend – Hardik Pandya. pic.twitter.com/MsHjoriv0i
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 28, 2022
Why the sports is so beautiful , Dinesh Karthik take a bow to hardik Pandya after the match.#INDvsPAK #DineshKarthik #HardikPandya pic.twitter.com/cRBauJDApS
— Sumit⚡ (@sumitgosavi007) August 29, 2022
A nail biting encounter.. but in the end the difference between both the team was Hardik Pandya. #IndvsPak pic.twitter.com/FMAZjE6DA9
— Amit Mishra (@MishiAmit) August 28, 2022
Hardik Pandya at every difficult situation ☝🏻#INDvsPAK pic.twitter.com/hIsUq8M0nl
— prime video IN (@PrimeVideoIN) August 28, 2022
Hardik Pandya. That’s the tweet.
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) August 28, 2022
https://twitter.com/AyushSuneja4/status/1564101686691790849?s=20&t=4y6lSmHp8oWUu_1Iw8W8cQ
India…India…Astonishing WIN #IndiaVsPak #HardikPandya New Finisher 🤘🏻 pic.twitter.com/p6VXQ5q2K1
— Ankit Gupta (@AkkiAnkit) August 28, 2022