Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya made a scintillating return for the first time since winning the T20 World Cup in the West Indies as his 16-ball 39 runs helped the hosts beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in the 1st T20I in Gwalior on Sunday. (Match Blog | More Cricket News)
Pandya's innings included five 4s and two sixes that left the viewers in awe of the returning all-rounder in the Men In Blue jersey. Such was Pandya's class at the crease that the internet went 'ga-ga' over him with reactions such as 'infinite aura', 'ultimate swagger' and more on the social media.
Pandya brought out the no-look shot in the 12th over of the match wherein India were set a target of 128 and the all-rounder brought the game to a close with his 'swag' shots. Taskin Ahmed bowled in short but Pandya without any hesitation guided the ball over the wicketkeeper for a four.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri on-air called it 'cheeky' whereas co-commentator and Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal termed it as 'special'.
Such was Pandya's elegance and panache, that the 30-year-old did not even bother to look behind to see where the ball landed.
Earlier in the Bangladesh's innings, Pandya bowled four overs and conceded 26 runs to go a with the wicket of Shoriful Islam. India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets to go 1-0 in the three-match series.
The 2nd IND vs BAN T20I will be played on October 9, Wednesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
