India’s captain Rohit Sharma, facing the camera, hugs teammate Hardik Pandya as they celebrate their win against South Africa in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP/PTI)
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was all praise for his deputy Hardik Pandya, who bowled the last over in India’s nail-biting triumph against South Africa in the T20 World Cup final last week.
Speaking at the team’s felicitation ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Rohit said, “Hats off to him to bowl that last over. No matter how many runs you need, there’s always so much pressure to bowl that over. Hats off to him.”
Taking the cue from the skipper, as the giant screen showed Pandya on screen, a packed Wankhede crowd started chanting the all-rounder’s name.
India, you mean the world to me! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the love.. these are moments that I will never ever forget! Thank you for coming out to celebrate with us, despite the rains! We love you so much! Celebrating with you is why we do what we do! We’re… pic.twitter.com/c18lLrPJ1q
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) July 4, 2024
The moment comes as a redemption for Pandya, who was booed during this year’s IPL at the Mumbai Indians home venue after he replaced Rohit Sharma as the franchise captain.
At the T20 World Cup, Pandya was among the chief contributors to India’s win – with bat and ball – and removed Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller to close the win for India in the final.
Speaking moments after seeing through the win for India, a teary-eyed Pandya had said, “It is special for me after my six months, I haven’t spoken a word, things have been unfair, but I knew there’d be a time I could shine. An opportunity like this makes it all the more special.”
Taking to his social media on Thursday following India’s T20 World Cup victory parade and felicitation ceremony in Mumbai, Pandya penned an emotional note.
“India, you mean the world to me! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the love.. these are moments that I will never ever forget! Thank you for coming out to celebrate with us, despite the rains! We love you so much! Celebrating with you is why we do what we do! We’re all champions! All 1.4 billion of us! Thank you Mumbai, thank you India,” the all-rounder wrote.
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First uploaded on: 04-07-2024 at 22:46 IST
