The beginning of 2024 was not a good one for Hardik Pandya with the allrounder being roundly booed by fans in the Indian Premier League after he was declared the captain of Mumbai Indians in place of Rohit Sharma. But as the year went on, Pandya turned his fortunes around after his match-winning performances in India’s T20 World Cup winning triumph.
“They (fans) said, life for me, had come a full circle. They said, from here on, there was no looking back. I had won them (fans) back,” said Pandya in a video posted by the BCCI on social media.
Pandya scored 144 runs and took 11 wickets in the global tournament as India reclaimed the T20 World Cup after 2007, ending India’s 13-year long ICC Trophy drought.
“A new year, a new tournament and a new challenge awaits us. Our quest to become champions once again has begun. Today, we step out yet again to start fresh, to conquer another day, to conquer another opponent. Chapter 2 in the Champions Trophy awaits. Get ready and fasten your seat-belts for a contest that needs no introduction,” he said before India’s Champions Trophy match against Pakistan on Sunday.
In the Pakistan match on Sunday, Hardik was in top form sending back Babar Azam and a well-set Saud Shakeel. Shakeel was looking ominous with 62 runs but he tried to pull Pandya’s delivery only to end up holing out to Axar Patel in the deep.
In the first match against Bangladesh, Pandya bowled a miserly four overs, giving away just 20 runs without taking a wicket as India won by six wickets.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
