Vice-captain Hardik Pandya was in tears after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win on Saturday, 29 June. Pandya who came into the tournament after an extremely poor Indian Premier League season, was crucial in India’s title win in the USA and Caribbean islands. Pandya reflected on his past six months while speaking to the broadcaster after the match and said that he had not lashed out even once when things were falling apart, and the win felt more special for the exact same reason.
Hardik Pandya had copped a lot of abuse from social media trolls and MI fans in the Indian Premier League 2024. Pandya, who had taken over as the MI captain replacing Rohit Sharma had irked the fans due to his transfer from MI.
Pandya was booed in multiple games in the IPL 2024. Even MI’s home stadium of Wankhede had been hostile towards the all-rounder. On top of that, Pandya’s poor form with both bat and ball caught the attention of former cricketers who criticised him heavily.
Speaking to the broadcaster, Pandya said that the win really meant a lot to him and had come at the right time.
“It means a lot. Very emotional, we’ve been working very hard and something was not clicking. But today we got what the whole nation wanted. More special for me, how my last 6 months were, I haven’t spoken a word. I knew that if I kept working hard I could shine and do what I could do. Getting an opportunity like this makes it more special,” Hardik Pandya said after the match.
On the day, India clawed their way back into the game in the final 5 overs of the game. India were down and out when Heinrich Klaasen was hitting the spinners left, right and centre in their chase of 177 runs. However, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah combined to pull off a superb back-end effort which helped India win the game by 7 runs.
Speaking about the same, Pandya said that India always believed and were calm throughout the game.
“We always believed, it was just about executing our plans and staying calm and letting the pressure come to them. Credit to Jassi (Bumrah) and the other bowlers for those last 5 overs. Knew it would not help me if I wasn’t calm, wanted to commit 100% to every ball I’ve bowled. I’ve always enjoyed pressure,” Pandya said.
The all-rounder was happy for outgoing coach Rahul Dravid, who completed his tenure with the men’s national team.
“Very happy for him (Dravid), he’s been a wonderful man, really enjoyed working with him, to give him a farewell like this is wonderful, have had a very good relationship with him and became friends. Very happy for all the support staff,” concluded the all-rounder.
With the win, India became only the third team to lift the T20 World Cup trophy twice in the history of the format.
