Two months ago, Hardik Pandya was subjected to boos at the Wankhede Stadium after the star all-rounder replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the five-time champions Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 IPL season.
Hardik had become the centre of criticism following Mumbai Indians’ decision to appoint him the captain of the franchise, and bore the ire of the fans after the team endured a disappointing outing throughout the season.
However, on Thursday, chants of Hardik-Hardik echoed across the iconic Wankhede, celebrating the star all-rounder’s heroics in the final over of the T20 World Cup final against South Africa on Saturday.
Visuals from Wankhede Stadium where the stage is all set to welcome the #T20WorldCup champions, Team India.#VictoryParade #IndianCricketTeam #Mumbai #WankhedeStadium #TheStatesman pic.twitter.com/BWldMc7cII
— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) July 4, 2024
Massive crowds gathered at the Wankhede Stadium to greet the victorious T20 World Cup-winning team led by Rohit Sharma. The heavy rain in the city hardly deterred the crowd that waited with bated breath to catch a glimpse of the World Cup heroes.
Hardik made impactful cameos down the order with the bat and got regular breakthroughs with the ball when the team needed him to. He finished with 144 runs at a batting strike rate of over 150 and also took 11 wickets.
| Hardik Pandya shows the #WorldCup trophy to the Mumbai crowd upon his arrival, ahead of the victory parade at #MarineDrive.#VictoryParade #IndianCricketTeam #HardikPandya #Mumbai #TheStatesman pic.twitter.com/cnEmAay7aj
— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) July 4, 2024
The 30-year-old handed telling blows to South Africa in the nail-biting final by dismissing half-centurion Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller in his 3/20 effort. He saved his best for the title clash in Barbados when his decisive blow – the wicket of Klaasen – with South Africa on top of the game swung the contest.
The Baroda all-rounder went on to bowl the tense final over and defended 16 runs to help India win the T20 World Cup title, and end a 11-year title drought.
Pandya’s impressive showing in the recently-concluded ICC men’s T20 World Cup has made him the first Indian player to become No.1 in the ICC men’s T20I allrounder rankings.