Hardik Pandya is one of the best all-rounders in modern-era cricket. The big gun from India has demonstrated his potential on the hugest occasion. Furthermore, the comeback from Hardik in international cricket is a tremendously inspiring story in sports. He gave it all in his game against the arch-rivals. Hardik Pandya vs Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022 is a terrific episode that we witnessed on Sunday night. The game was a nail-biter until the end. Nevertheless, Pandya kept his calm on the toughest of occasions and won India the game like a boss! Not that he delivered with the bat but performed spectacularly for his side in the bowling department. The Pakistan team struggled immensely against the fireballs delivered by Hardik in the Asia Cup 2022 encounter.
The Sunday game was a delight for the cricket fans. Millions were waiting to tune their television screens for the ultimate contest of cricket. In the past, there used to be spectacular hype before the game. However, the games between India and Pakistan were mostly one-sided during this game. But this time the story was different. With the astonishing backfoot punch of Hardik Pandya against Mohammad Nawaz in the final over, India won the game against Pakistan by 5 wickets in the crunch moments.
Throwback: Injury vs Pakistan in Asia Cup 2018
You are one of the best all-rounders in modern-era cricket. The Asia Cup 2018 is happening and the eyes are upon you expecting a splendid show from you. The biggest rivalry has arrived and you are all set to demonstrate your skillset on the field. Suddenly you go through a horrific experience. With all the excitement for the game against Pakistan, the first ten powerplay overs became a burden for Hardik Pandya.
He suffered a shoulder injury in the first 10 overs of the game. The stretcher came to carry Pandya. It was a haunting dream for the star of India. Little did he know the chapter was a part of his redemption story which will take a twist in the form of a splendid Hardik Pandya vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 show. Do you want to find out which team has the highest number of chances of winning the Asia Cup 2022? Would Hardik Pandya end as the best all-rounder of the tournament? What do the odds suggest? You could go to the best online cricket sportsbook sites in India to know the numbers.
What Followed After The Injury
In 2021 and 2021, Hardik Pandya played less amount of cricket due to the surgery. Moreover, he was only playing as a batsman. He was not bowling any overs to not risk his career on the field. Pandya was witnessing a setback. He was not performing well with the bat either. Pandya is often compared with veteran all-rounder Ben Stokes. Following being smashed in the World T20 2016 final, Stokes was down but that chapter was the prologue in his journey of redemption. He won England the historical Headingley Test and ICC ODI World Cup 2019. The all-rounders show great commitment on the field. The same was expected from his competitor Hardik. You fall in your tough time but get up being prepared more than ever.
In The T20 World Cup 2021, Indian fans criticized Hardik Pandya immensely. The batsman failed to make any impact with the bat. Moreover, the injury did not allow him to bowl in the tournament. All the talks were going around in the town. People suggested dropping him from the side and bringing a specialist batsman in his place. No problem! The biggest T20 tournament came meanwhile. After Mumbai Indians released the star all-rounder, Gujrat Titans acquired the services of Hardik Pandya in IPL 2022. Another chapter in the book before we reach Hardik Pandya is Asia Cup 2022 chapter. He was appointed the captain of the side
Maiden Indian Premier League Title As Captain
Here comes the chapter of ecstasy for Hardik Pandya. He perform the feat which renowned captains like Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli could not perform during their cricket careers. He won the Indian Premier League 2022 as the captain of the Gujrat Titans. Pandya led the Titans from the front in the tournament. Therefore, he scored 487 runs in the tournament with a batting average of 44.27. Hence the leader of Gujrat was the fourth highest run-getter of the tournament. The strike rate of Hardik Pandya was 131.26 in the IPL 2022. The star all-rounder came back in the groove with the ball too. He started delivering the fireballs and was contributing with both bat and ball. Let’s share the statistics we got from ESPNCRICINFO. In the IPL 2022, Hardik Pandya took a total of eight wickets with a bowling average of 27.75. Furthermore, he bowled with an impressive economy rate of 7.27 in the tournament.
Hardik Pandya vs Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022
Left the treat for the last because this is where the most interesting story begins. Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2021. It was a time for revenge for the Indian team. For the men in green, the villain of the story was Hardik Pandya. The Indian team prepared a spectacular plan to trap Pakistani batsmen with bouncers against Pakistan. Therefore, rightly so, Pakistan could not survive against the masterclass planning of the Indian team. Iftikhar Ahmed was batting set on the crease. Despite a tough start for Pakistan, he helped Pakistan in stabilizing its feat on the crease. The Indian captain brought Hardik Pandya to the attack to find a significant breakthrough.
The Bowling Masterclass
Pandya came with a marvelous bouncer and trapped Iftikhar with a bouncer as per the plan. The Pakistani middle-order batsman tried to play a pull shot but failed to survive. He gave the catch straight to the wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik. There came the first wicket for Hardik Pandya in the game. Although he took a crucial wicket he did not ease his plan against the Pakistani batsmen. Pandya kept hitting the deck hard and troubled the hard-hitter Khushdil Shah. Mohammad Rizwan crossed the mark of 40-runs on the crease. India needed his wicket to get complete command of the game. Rizwan, the settled batsman on the crease, departed for the score of 43 runs.
The sequence of spectacular events for Hardik Pandya did not stop against Pakistan. He kept hitting the tough line and length to trouble the batsmen on the crease. Khushdil Shah, who is a fine hard-hitting batsman, was facing difficulty settling his feat on the crease. Pandya took full advantage of the situation of the Pakistani bouncer and bowled a short ball delivery. Hence Shah had no answer to the astonishing bowling display of Hardik Pandya. He gave a catch straight to the fielder. Pandya provided India with another breakthrough. He helped India dismiss the arch-rivals on the score of 147.
Hardik Pandya: The Batting Star For India vs Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022
The Pakistan bowling attack is one of the best line-ups in the world. Despite the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan was not short of a bowling marvel on its side. Naseem Shah was bowling fireballs against India. It seemed Pakistan has got an advantage in the game when three Indian batsmen returned to the pavilion. Yadav and Jadeja together tried to settle things on the crease. However, the wonderful pace of Naseem Shah deceived Suryakumar Yadav in the death overs. Less than 5 overs left. India was in trouble. Who will do the job now?
Millions are watching. The social media brigade was ready to go all guns of criticism blazing on the players. Nevertheless, when Pandya was entering the Dubai International Stadium to face the sensational bowling attack of Pakistan, there was strange but inspirational confidence on his face. Confidence on what? Is it on his abilities? Are the flashbacks of the Asia Cup 2018 story not going through his mind? Moreover, what is the source of the spectacular calmness on his face?
Hardik Pandya vs Haris Rauf in Asia Cup 2022 – Clash of Titans
There was no hurry from Pandya in the second-last over of Haris Rauf. What was he up to? Pandya was rotating the strike without showing intent to hit against the Pakistan bowlers in the death overs. Then came the crucial circumstances. India required 21 runs off 12 balls to grab the victory against Pakistan. Last over of Haris Rauf. He is always a dangerous bowler in the death overs. Pandya was on strike. Can Rauf be the most needed breakthrough for Pakistan? Again, Pandya took the single. India is in trouble. Pakistan looked in a commanding position against the arch-rivals India. Finally, Pandya showed intent and hit it over covers to clear the boundary the fielder on the covers. A boundary for India. Babar Azam could not stop the four. Hardik Pandya was playing a phenomenal knock against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022.
Haris Rauf bowled again vs Hardik Pandya to go with all power but man oh man! He hit terrifically towards the long-on area and produced another boundary for India. All happy faces in the dressing room of the Indian team. Then comes the dot ball. In the last ball of the over, Hardik hit another boundary making things sensational for India. First, he fired up with his spectacular fireballs against Pakistan in the 1st innings. Secondly, he built the innings when the crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav fell. Lastly, he was smashing the ball all around the park against the best death-over bowler of Pakistan. What a wonderful performance.
The Last Over Drama
Last over, the skipper gave the ball to Mohammad Nawaz. India only required 7 runs off the last over. Ravindra Jadeja could not clear the boundary on the first ball. Bowled ’em! Huge pressure on Dinesh Karthik. He decided to not take any risks in the final moments. Pandya was on strike. It was a stage set for Pandya to become a hero. 6 required off 4 balls. He played a dot ball. Trouble! Problem! Could he do it? Before Nawaz delivered the ball, the camera was on Hardik. He nodded his head with sheer confidence.
Pandya assured Karthik that he will do it. Not only Karthik, but it was also a signal to the anxious Indian fans. Nawaz delivered a quick short length delivery. Hardik Pandya played the shot over long-on and hit a spectacular six to finish the job. India won the game against Pakistan by 5 wickets. Credits to the spectacular performance by Hardik Pandya. He was awarded the man-of-the-match award for his great all-round performance. Pandya took 3 wickets for 25 runs against Pakistan. He contributed 33 runs with the bat in the second innings.
Asia Cup 2022 is producing an astonishing amount of action. The Hardik Pandya Asia Cup 2022 story is one of the most inspirational and astonishing stories in cricket. As the tournament will progress, it is expected that we could witness similar stuff from other players. There might be some amazing stories yet to be revealed from the teams as a unit also. Furthermore, you might want to find out the winning chances of the teams in Asia Cup 2022. If yes, the odds on the best online cricket news sites in the UK suggest the percentage of chances a team has of winning the tournament.
