Hardik Pandya makes extraordinary look like an everyday chore, taking India to 15-run thrilling win

In a game of multiple narratives, sterling cameos and comebacks within comebacks, the chief protagon remained Hardik Pandya. The soul of India’s 15-run, series-sealing victory over England was the wisdom, the chutzpah and belief of Hardik Pandya. When the match wound up, maroon and red plumes from the firecrackers worming into the skies, the cameras converged on Pandya, who strolled with an air of indifference, as though his match-turning 53 was nothing special, but just an ordinary show.
Perhaps, he has reached a stage of his career where routine match-defining acts don’t excite him. He has shaped the destiny of countless matches, won every accolade the shortest format could bestow over a cricketer and there is no dream that remains unfulfilled. He makes no fuss, inspires no needless headlines, and walks almost invisibly on the field. At 31, and nearly a decade into his international career, he remains an antithesis to the revolting youth he once was. In this series, he has scored 109 runs, the third best tally Indian batsmen, and snaffled five wickets, most an Indian seamer, with little qualms.
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But it remains a reality that he remains India’s most valuable player in white-ball forms. The outcome of big tournaments remains inseparably hinged on his form and mood. It should delight Rohit Sharma and Co that Pandya is in the mood to win matches, both with the bat and the ball, ahead of the Champions Trophy.
India’s Hardik Pandya plays a shot during the fourth T20 cricket match between England and India in Pune, India, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)
All contributions are equal, but his is more equal than rest. Dube regered the exact amount of runs as Pandya; Ravi Bishnoi pressed the handbrakes on England’s power-play rampage with the wickets of Ben Duckett and Phil Salt. England slipped from 62 for 0 to 65 for 2 in the space of five balls. His spin ally Varun Chakaravarthy removed the dangerous and artful Harry Brook to thwart England’s second coming. From 129 for 4, England slumped to 133 for six in three balls. Harshit Rana, debuting as Shivam Dube’s concussion substitute, nipped a late England renaissance.
As invaluable as their interventions were, Pandya’s 30-ball 53 towered above them all. It’s often the case when superstars steal all the limelight from side actors in a he, even if there have been equally noteworthy contributions. It is also about Pandya’s persona, the aesthetics, the shuddering effect it has on opponents, and the belief he instills in the audience in the worst of times for his team, fills the arena with his sheer presence.
India’s Hardik Pandya plays a shot during the fourth T20 cricket match between England and India in Pune, India, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)
His batting alone would have made the long trek from the city centre and beyond to Gahunje in the outskirts worth the traffic, dust and time. It’s the frame that strikes first, the lithe shoulders, the snake hips and the lean long legs. Then hits his supersonic bat-speed. Hardik sets his base on the back-foot, almost coiling his lower body to stabilise his base, clears front leg and flings the ball through the line with all the classical tenets of high front-elbow and keeping shape in place. His bat melts orthodox into the unorthodox. Typically, the early half of his knock, with India in strife at 57 for 4 and 79 for 5 after Rinku Singh’s departure, was sedate. He eschewed risks, lashed fours only off fuller balls. He even defended Rashid on the front-foot and left a ripping leg-break too. Story continues below this ad
He was unworried about his strike-rate. At one stage, he was on 14 from 17 balls. But few middle-order batsmen in the harum-scarum world of T20 remain unflustered at his crawling pace. For, his heart beats with the certainty that he could make up if he stays deeper into the match. So did he. But in the next 10 balls, he scythed 36 runs. The onslaught began with a pair of sixes off Saqib, a thump over long-on followed a thud over midwicket, hit with so much power that it left dents on the advertising screens, and could have sent the thoroughbreds looking out for pitch intruders back into the kennel.
Most gorgeous—and quintessentially Pandya—was the off-driven six off Archer. He moved his front-leg away, arched his upper body back and buried the ball in the stands. The most daring was a hack past backward point off Jamie Overton’s wa-high low full toss. The ball speared awkwardly into his body, but he didn’t flinch.
India’s Hardik Pandya plays a shot during the fourth T20 cricket match between England and India in Pune, India, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)
Pace hardly rattles him, unlike it sometimes does for Dube. Then, the sole purpose of Dube’s return was to neutralise the threat Rashid poses. Destructive against spinners of all hues, he vindicated the decision amassing 25 off 11 balls. Jos Buttler did spill a tough chance off the first ball, but he disdained him thereafter. Rashid, maybe overwhelmed Dube’s reputation, self-destructively tried too hard. The dew didn’t help him, as the ball slipped out of his palms a few times, resulting in half-trackers that Dube flayed towards the fence. Later, his confidence grew against seamers, as he displayed slapping Overton through square leg. The 87-run collaboration in 44 balls effectively sealed the game for India.
The upsurge remained dant when India reeled to 12 for 3 in the second over. Saqib Mahmood’s three-wickets muted the enthusiastic multitudes. The Pune crowd could have wondered whether to take the earliest commute to Pune. Most stayed back, and were treated to a variety of diverse performances, a series triumph and a superstar show from Pandya.