Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant Biggest Takeaways For India In T20 World Cup 2024 Group Stage: Harbhajan Singh
New Delhi: Hardik Pandya’s knack of picking wickets and Rishabh Pant’s show with the bat at No.3 in the T20 World Cup 2024 so far have been the biggest positives for India. The Men in Blue, with three wins from four games are through to the Super 8 stage and will face Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Australia in the next round for a place in the semifinal. In the group stage, India won against Ireland, Pakistan and USA while their match against Canada was washed out.
Coming into the T20 World Cup, Pandya wasn’t in a great state of mind after constant booing from Mumbai Indians fans in the Indian Premier League. As a result, it affected his own performance as well as his team Mumbai Indians. In T20 World Cup so far, Pandya snared seven wickets in three games and has bowled full tilt, quelling any apprehensions surrounding his fitness.
“The biggest positive is that Hardik Pandya took the wicket. He was the fourth bowler in this tournament. But if you look at his wicket tally, he has done much better than what was expected of him,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports. Pant, who is making his international return after recovering from a life-threatening car accident in 2022, has also been on a roll and has a strike rate of 124.67 in the tournament.
“Along with him, Rishabh Pant played at number 3. His role was completely changed. Before this World Cup, we were saying that Sanju Samson will play in the team because he has made big runs. To make Rishabh Pant play at number three is a big positive. Left-Right combination is formed when Rishabh Pant plays at number three,” Harbhajan said on Pant’s promotion up the order. India will open their Super Eight campaign against Afghanistan on June 20 in Barbados.
Harbhajan said the side has what it takes to face the challenge of new conditions, having played all its previous matches in the USA. “There are a lot of positives. Of course, there are challenges and difficulties. But the challenges come in front of those who are brave. This team is a team of brave players. “They fought well and played very well. Because of this, they topped the group,” he said.