Playing big role in T20 World Cup win just surreal

It has been more than six months, but the sight of Hardik Pandya breaking down in tears as he sat mid-pitch at the Kensington Oval after India won the T20 World Cup is among the indelible images of the tournament. In the span of a month, he went from being jeered around India during the IPL to being the man of the moment in India’s hour of crisis in Barbados, sending down two crucial overs that changed the course of the final.
Recalling the events of that famous day, Pandya said his performances in the final – where he bowled the 17th and 20th overs – felt surreal. “We won as a team. But for me to play that much important role, it is just surreal. And it’s a dream which actually came true,” Pandya told the ICC.
The T20 World Cup in the US and Caribbean had come at a time when Pandya was struggling for form. In the IPL held just before that tournament, he had a season to forget on his return to Mumbai Indians, whom he led for the first time. “From my shoulder, a big weight was kind of off. I think it was just a relief. Really proud of the way I was able to stand, and maybe not show a lot of emotions or how I have been going through,” Pandya said about the moment when he just sat down after his final delivery.
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In the final, when skipper Rohit Sharma handed Pandya the ball in the 17th over, South Africa needed 26 runs with six wickets in hand. And more importantly, they had Heinrich Klaasen in the middle, who was threatening to end South Africa’s title drought in a hurry. But Pandya’s presence of mind to go wide of the stumps – away from Klaasen’s hitting arc, gave India the breakthrough that would change the game.
“Just before the ball, I just told him (Rohit) that I’m gonna go wide to Klaasen and I just knew that he’s gonna expect a ball which is on the stumps. His leg was a little to the leg-side, so I knew that he’s gonna try to hit me there and that’s when I, just before my run-up, just looked at him and said I’m gonna go slow because I didn’t set a field for a slower ball. I had to outfox him or I had to be a little one up in the game so he’s not aware of what ball is coming, because the way he was hitting it was just tremendous. That just opened the door for us,” Pandya recalled.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

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