In terms of elite T20I wickets, Hardik Pandya trails only R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah. Pandya was India’s first-choice bowler in the second T20I, with stats of 3/35 in four overs.
After India’s two-wicket loss against the West Indies on Sunday, August 7. Hardik Pandya became the first Indian captain to lose two straight T20Is against the West Indies since 2016. The Indian squad failed to defend a 153-run mark at Providence Stadium in Guyana, as the West Indies’ tail guided 26 runs for the ninth wicket to send their team home.
The Indian captain was the standout of the bowlers for his team, taking 3/35 in four overs. Pandya got things started right away, knocking Brandon King for a golden duck on the first ball of the innings. The 29-year-old then dismissed Johnson Charles for 2 in the same over to get his team off to a flying start. In the tenth over, he returned to remove his counterpart Rovman Powell for 21.
Pandya vaulted three positions to third on the list of India’s most wicket-takers in T20Is with his three-wicket haul. The all-rounder finished third on the list, trailing only Jasprit Bumrah (70 wickets) and Ravichandran Ashwin (72 wickets), with 73 wickets from 89 matches at an average of 25.83 and an economy of 8.13.
Returning to the game, Pandya said India fell 10-20 runs short in the first innings and urged batsmen to take more responsibility. Notably, India scored 152/7, with Tilak Varma leading the way with 51 (41) points in only his second international game.
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That was not a pleasing batting performance: Hardik Pandya
“To be honest, that was not a good batting performance. ” The wickets were tumbling and the pace was slowing. We could have batted more effectively. A decent total would have been 160 plus or 170. “Batters need to take more responsibility,” Pandya stated after the game.
With India trailing the five-match series 0-2 in the third T20I on Tuesday, August 8 at Providence Stadium in Guyana, India has one last chance to mount a comeback.
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