Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Hardik Pandya breaks record in the first T20I vs ENG | Hardik Pandya creates history in first IND vs ENG T20I
Hardik Pandya became the first ever Indian to score a half-century and take four wickets in a single T20I on Thursday.
The Gujarat Titans’ skipper was in some scintillating touch against England in the first T20I. His all-round performance enabled the Indian team to round off a convincing 50-run victory over Jos Buttler’s men.
Having come to bat at 89/3, Pandya stuck around for the following nine overs to add a further 91 runs to the team’s tally. He personally pitched in with 51 runs off 33 deliveries, which included six boundaries a solitary six.
Pandya rallied the middle-around around him as he stuck meaningful partnerships first with Suryakumar Yadav and then Axar Patel to help India dominate the middle-overs.
India scored 198 runs but needed to back it up with an equally proficient bowling performance to successfully defend the target.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided a fitting start by bowling over Buttler in the first over itself. However, it was Hardik’s heroics with the ball later on that broke the back of the English batting unit.
The quartet of Jason Roy (4), Dawid Malan (21), Liam Livingstone (4) and Sam Curran (4) were dismissed by Pandya as India ensured that England was unable to forge a decent partnership in the middle.
Hardik Pandya shares secret to his record-breaking performance
“I want success but a lot of time I spend on fitness and my skillsets. For me a lot of time goes into the preparation to get my body ready. Because of the long break that I had, I wanted to get into rhythm,” the 28-year-old was quoted as saying after the game in a report by News18.
He added, “(Bowling quickly) That was a conscious decision when I decided I want some time off from the game. It is about giving your 100% and when you don’t do that, there is no point playing. So, I needed that break and now I am happy to be in this place right now.”
Pandya also opened up on having clarity in life and heaped praise on his family for being a strong support system that have propelled him to success.
“My mindset doesn’t take me too high, nor low. I have learned to live neutral in life. Today was a good day, tomorrow can be bad but life moves on, so keep laughing and do your hard work,” the all-rounder provided a peek into his prevalent thought process.
Pandya had taken a prolonged break from cricket after a disappointing performance in the World T20 last year. However, he scored 487 runs and took eight wickets as he led Gujarat Titans to the IPL trophy in their maiden season in the tournament. Since then, the all-rounder has been in a purple patch and even led India for the first time in the recent T20I series in Ireland.
India will next face England at Edgbaston for the second T20I of the series on Saturday.
