Hardik Pandya’s journey through life came full circle on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium when he defeated Pakistan, the same team against whom he had sustained an injury in 2018 at the Asia Cup and had to miss nearly three years of cricket play, with game-winning innings. In order to help India overcome Pakistan by five wickets on Sunday, the all-rounder brought his A-game to the middle and grabbed three wickets before making a quickfire 33. With two balls remaining, the Rohit Sharma-led team was able to defeat 148 thanks to this performance.
Hardik can be seen speaking with Ravindra Jadeja in a video posted on the BCCI website, as he discusses getting hurt last year.
“I was recalling everything. In the 2018 Asia Cup, I was carried off the field against the same opponent at the same location. You get a sense of accomplishment because despite the unfortunate events in the past, today I had a chance. The journey is lovely. We get the rewards of our trip, while many others who walked beside us go unnoticed in the background.
India was having trouble with their 148-run chase when Hardik and Ravindra Jadeja teamed up to create a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket. Jadeja passed away after scoring 35, but Hardik made sure the team won nevertheless.
“Seven runs in the last over, in my opinion, is not a very difficult assignment. Five fielders were positioned inside the ring as a left-arm spinner bowled. Even if there were ten fielders stationed at the boundary, none of this would have mattered to me since I needed to hit a huge shot. I only cried once during the entire inning, and that was when you were struck out. Since I was aware that the bowler was under considerable strain, I didn’t feel it. I anticipated that he would throw a long delivery back “Hardik stated.
Jadeja remarked of the victory: “It was incredibly significant. I received a promotion to a higher rank. I wanted to try my luck playing the spinners. We established a collaboration because it was crucial, and we spoke about using our own skills.
