Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya marked his return to the Indian team in style in their T20 World Cup 2024 opener against Ireland at the at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York Wednesday, June 5. The all-rounder, featuring for the first time since the 2023 ODI World Cup exit, impressed with a three-wicket haul which helped India break Ireland's back. Hardik literally tuned the boos into cheers with his sensational performance. The 30-year-old was brutally trolled in the just concluded IPL 2024. Throughout the IPL 2024 Hardik was booed by fans whenever he took field for the toss. Notably, Hardik replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain before the start of the IPL 2024. The decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as captain of the Mumbai Indians didn't sit well with the fans. Fans expressed their disapproval of the change by jeering and booing Hardik during matches, both at home and away stadiums to an extent that in a match commentator Sanjay Manjrekar had to ask Wankhede crowd to 'behave'. Under Hardik's captaincy MI ended the season at bottom of the table.
However, Hardik didn't take too long to turn those boos into cheers. He proved his bowling prowess in India's T20 World Cup's campaign opener against Ireland. After wrapping up Ireland's innings cheaply, Hardik was overjoyed by the fans support and said that it's always fantastic to see the crowd supporting the team.
“Always special to play for the country, always good to play for pride. I have been able to contribute in the World Cups, god has been kind. That was an outstanding effort by Axar, those are the catches when you let your hand-eye co-ordination let in,” Hardik told broadcasters after Ireland's batting.
“I really liked the first wicket, don't hit the stumps often as I usually bowl short of a length. I needed to be fuller than back of a length today. On this kind of surface you need to be disciplined and hit the right areas. It's always fantastic to see the crowd, we Indians are everywhere, we rule the world, good to have their support,” Hardik added.
Coming back to the match, Hardik Pandya started strong, taking his first wicket just outside the powerplay in the seventh over. He deceived Lorcan Tucker with a beautiful inswinger that snuck through the defense and rattled the stumps. Pandya continued his impressive spell, grabbing his second wicket in the 9th over. This time, an outswinger got the better of Curtis Campher, finding the outside edge and flying to the fielder. He wrapped up his three wickets in the 11th over. Mark Adair, a lower-order batsman, mistimed a short ball and skied it to Shivam Dube in the outfield. Riding on Hardik's impressive show India folded Ireland to a paltry 96, with Gareth Delany being the highest scorer for them.
In reply, India ended up chasing down the lowly target with eight wickets and 46 balls to spare.
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