Batting at St. Geroge’s Park during the second T20I was a hard job, and there is no hiding that only because of the unbeaten 39-run knock from Hardik Pandya, the premier all-rounder of India, the Blue Brigade earned the chance to give a fight to the home South African side, who went over the finishing line at the very last moment with three wickets in hand.
When Hardik Pandya walked into the middle, the visiting side had already lost four wickets for just 45 runs in eight overs and was struggling badly to get the bat on the ball. The top order of the Indian team failed badly as opener Sanju Samson, fresh from his successive centuries, was undone on the three-ball duck. Abhishek Sharma and captain Suryakumar Yadav went back to the dressing room for their respective four-run knocks.
Tilak Verma showed some fight in the contest for his run-a-ball 20 runs thanks to one boundary and as many sixes. But nothing was going in India’s favor, as Axar Patel was run out after he failed to save himself from the straight drive of Pandya who hit the stumps. With the dismissal of Rinku Singh, the two-time world champions lost their sixth wicket in 15.2 overs, gathering only 87 runs.
Also Read: Mumbai Indians To Betray Hardik Pandya Before IPL 2025 Auction? Veteran Australian Predicts
Hardik Pandya tried to nail the boundaries towards the end of the innings but wasn’t able to get going against the slower balls of Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee. The right-handed batter remained unbeaten on 39 runs in 45 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six to carry the visiting side to 124/6 in their allotted 20 overs.
Basit Ali slammed Hardik Pandya for sluggish knock in Gqeberha
In the final two overs of the innings, the Baroda all-rounder was refusing the singles on most occasions to Arshdeep Singh, who ended with undefeated seven runs in six balls thanks to one six. As a result, the current champions could collect only six runs in ten balls.
The former Pakistan middle order batter Basit Ali has questioned the approach of the all-rounder as he felt that it looked like Hardik Pandya was preparing for the Indian Premier League (IPL). He couldn’t help believe how the veteran didn’t take the singles in the final overs despite his team being six wickets down.
“Pandya saab not out rahe, 39 from 45 balls, total apne liye khele (Pandya remained unbeaten, played for himself). Apne liye kyu khele? Mujhe lagta hai IPL ki taiyari kar rahe hain Mumbai Indians ke liye (why he played for himself? I think he is preparing for Mumbai Indians and IPL).” The former Pakistan player claimed in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
The 31-year-old, who has nailed 1682 T20I runs in 84 innings at an average of 28.03 and a strike rate of over 142 with the help of four half-centuries and a best score of unbeaten 71 runs besides picking up 87 scalps, was one of the reasons behind India lifting the title of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Also Read: Virat Kohli First Indian Player To Arrive In Perth For Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025 Series
Hardik Pandya came into the series on a cracking note with 118 runs under his belt in just three innings during the home T20I series against Bangladesh, which they went on to win by a 3-0 margin.
“India was not nine down that he was denying singles; they were just six down. He should have taken the singles. But he is a big player and India’s favorite. Axar batted better than him, who unfortunately got run out after scoring 27 runs off 21 balls.” Basit Ali concluded.
The third T20I of the four-match series will begin on November 13 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.