Hardik Pandya. (Source – Twitter/X)
Hardik Pandya was greeted warmly in his hometown, Vadodara, by a huge crowd of fans after his all-round heroics helped India win the 2024 T20 World Cup last month.
In a video which has gone viral in minutes, the star all-rounder could be seen atop an open bus, wearing India’s ODI jersey and waving to the delirious fans on the road. The vehicle carrying the Indian icon displayed a banner hailing Hardik as the ‘Pride of Vadodara’.
Hardik bowled the final over in the pulsating summit clash between India and South Africa in Barbados and successfully defended 16 runs. The 30-year-old has received a lot of praise from fans and experts after his sensational display during the 20-team tournament.
Here’s the video –
THE ROAD SHOW FOR HARDIK PANDYA IN VADODARA. 🤯
– The MVP of India in his hometown. pic.twitter.com/VuIVooDHOj
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 15, 2024
Hardik finished with phenomenal figures of 3/20 in the final against the Proteas, accounting for the wickets of Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, and Kagiso Rabada. This was his best bowling figures in the tournament. The Men in Blue won the game by just seven runs as they restricted South Africa to 169/8 in their pursuit of a 177-run target.
Hardik not only impressed in the finals but also showed his worth in various matches during the showpiece event as India remained unbeaten en route to the title. He batted on six instances and scored 144 runs at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151.57. With the ball, he finished with 11 wickets in eight matches at an average of 17.36 and a strike rate of 13.63. His best batting performance came against Bangladesh in a Super Eight clash, where he scored an unbeaten 50 off 27 balls.
The Choryasi-born is being touted as a frontrunner to succeed Rohit Sharma as India’s next T20I captain. The latter announced his retirement from T20Is after leading India to the T20 World Cup crown. Hardik was his deputy on the tour. He has led India in 16 T20Is in Rohit’s absence and his team won 10 of them. Hardik also has the experience of leading Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in 2022. The Asian giants are set to play a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka later this month. The BCCI is expected to name the new T20I captain in the next few days.