India started off their T20 World Cup 2022 journey with a bang as they exacted revenge on Pakistan for their crushing loss in the 2021 T20 World Cup, as they won a last-over thriller against the Men in Green by four wickets. Virat Kohli brought in his A-game as he snatched the match away from Pakistan’s jaws, but Hardik Pandya too played a crucial role with both bat and ball. However, it seems like there will be some bad news for the all-rounder.
Ahead of India’s next game against Netherlands on October 27 (Thursday) at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in the Super 12 stage, there seems to be some bad news as Hardik Pandya looks set to miss out from the game as he was not seen involved in India’s net practice session ahead of the game, as reported by Press Trust of India.
After playing briskly initially, Pandya somehow lost momentum in the latter half of his innings as it seemed like he was suffering from cramps. According to the PTI report, the Indian team management had a close look at the all-rounder’s fitness and decided for him to skip the practice session. However, this does not conclusively prove that Pandya will miss the next game, as all the bowlers too were given a day off.
In the first innings, Hardik Pandya first took the wicket of Shadab Khan, followed by an over where he picked up two wickets of Haider Ali and Mohammad Nawaz. He finished with figures of 3/30 in his four overs. When India were down for 31-4, after 6.1 overs, Hardik Pandya came into bat to join Virat Kohli and together they got the innings back on track. In fact, it was Pandya who shifted gears first, before Kohli took over and played a magical knock of 82. Pandya scored 40 runs from 37 deliveries, in an innings studded with 1 four and 2 sixes. He stitched a 113-wicket stand for the fifth wicket with Virat Kohli.