Hardik Pandya: When asked why he gave the ball to Axar Patel to bowl the last over against Sri Lanka, India T20I skipper Hardik Pandya stated it was because he wanted to push his team. On January 3, 2023, in the Wankhede stadium, India defeated Sri Lanka, the reigning Asian champions, by two runs to open the new year. Axar gave up a six, which reduced the requirement from 13 runs off the final six balls to five needed off three.
What did Hardik Pandya say after the match?
After bowling a dot ball, Axar and Deepak Hooda completed a run out on the sixth ball. India took an early lead in the three-match T20I series as Hooda and Ishan Kishan successfully executed a run out when four runs were needed off the final ball.
Hardik Pandya, during the post match, revealed “We might lose a game here and there but it is alright. It is the young guys who got us back into the game, Bilaterals, we are very good at and this is how we are going to challenge ourselves. To be honest, all the young guns got us out of the situation today. The conversation was very simple, I have seen him.”
Earlier, Axar and Hooda helped India reach 162/5 after Sri Lanka asked India to bat first. Axar (31* off 20) and Hooda (41* off 23) entered the game when the hosts were in trouble at 94/5 after an early collapse. In the final five overs, the duo contributed 68 runs, giving the bowlers something to contend with.
Axar Patel pulled off the match for India
Axar got off to a shaky start, conceding eight runs in the first three deliveries, including a six that Chamika Karunaratne struck on the third pitch of the over. The left-arm spinner, though, maintained his composure to follow the six with a dot ball, and Karunaratne then only managed to score one run off the fifth ball as the non-striker was run out to keep the all-rounder on strike. When Karunaratne needed four off the last ball, he needed to go for a boundary, but Axar kept the ball full and didn’t give him the length to go beneath it, thus the Men in Blue won by two runs.
Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘DNP INDIA’. Also, please subscribe and follow us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER
