Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya finally turned all the boos into cheers and helped India clinch the T20 World Cup 2024 title on June 29. After Virat Kohli's calculative knock, India rode on Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah's splendid spells to snatch victory over South Africa from jaws of defeat. While Hardik snared 3/20, Jasprit Bumrah took 2/18 to choke South Africa's batting line-up despite Heinrich Klaasen's heroics in the 177-run chase.
Hardik turned things around in the T20 World Cup 2024 after going through a lean patch in the IPL 2024, where he was leading the Mumbai Indians (MI), who ended up at the bottom of the points table.
Hardik, after the T20 World Cup 2024 final, expressed his happiness upon winning the trophy and admitted it means a lot to him. Hardik never let the belief inside him dim away and knew he will shine ultimately after how things panned out in the last months which saw him getting injured in the ODI World Cup and then consuming all the critics after taking over as MI captain in IPL 2024.
“It means a lot. Very emotional, we’ve been working very hard and something was not clicking. But today we got what the whole nation wanted. More special for me, how my last 6 months were, I haven’t spoken a word. I knew that if I kept working hard I could shine and do what I could do. Getting an opportunity like this makes it more special. We always believed, it was just about executing our plans and staying calm and letting the pressure come to them,” Hardik said after India's win over in T20 World Cup final.
“Credit to Jassi (Bumrah) and the other bowlers for those last 5 overs. Knew it would not help me if I wasn’t calm, wanted to commit 100% to every ball I’ve bowled. I’ve always enjoyed pressure. Very happy for him (Dravid), he’s been a wonderful man, really enjoyed working with him, to give him a farewell like this is wonderful, have had a very good relationship with him and became friends. Very happy for all the support staff. (Rohit walks over and gives Pandya a kiss),” Hardik added.
The momentum of the match dramatically shifted when Heinrich Klaasen's explosive 52 off 27 balls threatened to derail India's campaign. However, crucial interventions from Hardik Pandya and strategic decisions by captain Rohit Sharma, including a key over from Axar Patel, turned the game back in India's favor. In a tense conclusion, Pandya's nerve-wracking final over, where he defended 16 runs, sealed India's victory. This triumph marked India's first ICC trophy since 2013 and their first T20 World Cup win in the post-IPL era. The celebrations reflected both relief and jubilation for Kohli, Rohit, and their teammates, marking the end of an era for these two stalwarts in T20 cricket.
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