The visitors won by 26 runs at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot in the third T20I of the five-match series between India and England. India limited England to a meager 171 on the board after choosing to bowl first for the third consecutive time. The hosts, however, were only able to muster 145/9 in response. The game was concluded by Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya with a 35-ball 40 and 2/33 in his four-over quota.
Hardik’s performance was criticized by former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel, who played 34 games with the Mumbai Indians, who said that Hardik took too long to relax. Additionally, he noted that many dot delivery put additional strain on his companions in the center.
“I believed that you want to adjust to the pitch’s bounce and tempo when you take your time. You can’t settle in by taking twenty to twenty-five balls. Thus, that also put pressure on the other batters. It’s acceptable if you choose not to play those big shots, but you must continue to rotate the strike.
Playing three or four dot balls in a row is not possible,” Parthiv Patel told Star Sports.
Even though Hardik Pandya may have scored 40 runs off of 35 balls, his innings also included several costly errors that put pressure on the other batters. Therefore, I believe that is something that India may consider. Take your time. Even though it’s a low score, you still need to keep switching up your strikes with it,” he continued.
Notably, 12 dots were present in Hardik’s unusual knock. In the run-chase’s penultimate over, Jamie Overton caught him at long-off and dismissed him. The fourth game of the series between India and England is scheduled for January 31 in Pune.
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