In the third T20 match against England in Rajkot, India faced a 26-run defeat. Hardik Pandya played a crucial knock of 40 runs but couldn’t take India to victory. A mistake by Pandya during the game proved costly for the entire team. Let’s understand what happened.
Pandya Missed a Single Run
Hardik Pandya came to bat at number five and scored 40 runs off 35 balls, hitting 2 sixes and 1 four. He was dismissed on the first ball of the 19th over by Jimmy Overton.
Pandya was batting with Dhruv Jurel at the other end. On the last ball of the 18th over, Jurel played a shot and attempted to take a single, but Pandya did not run. The next over began, and Overton immediately dismissed Pandya, who was caught by Jos Buttler on the first ball.
Had Pandya stayed till the end, India might have won the match.
Poor Start for Team India
England set a target of 172 runs for India. However, the Indian team managed only 145 runs. The batting lineup struggled throughout the match.
- Opener Sanju Samson was dismissed for just 3 runs.
- Abhishek Sharma scored a quick 24 off 14 balls.
- Captain Suryakumar Yadav was out for 14 runs.
- Tilak Varma also couldn’t contribute much, scoring only 18 runs.
The defeat highlighted India’s batting challenges. Despite Pandya’s efforts, the missed single and his early dismissal proved costly for the team.
