Chamika Karunaratne Receives A Bat From His Role Model Hardik Pandya On T20I Debut; Thanks The Indian All-Rounder With A Heartfelt Message
Published - 26 Jul 2021, 05:28 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 05:39 PM
Sri Lanka bowling all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne was gifted a bat from his role model, superstar India all-rounder Hardik Pandya ahead of their encounter in the first T20I on Sunday in Colombo.
Karunaratne, who picked the wicket of India captain Shikhar Dhawan in the game, posted a video of Hardik Pandya giving him one of his bats and thanked him for the gesture. The Sri Lankan cricketer beamed with happiness on receiving the present from his idol.
“Absolutely honoured to have received a bat from my role model @hardikpandya93 , on my T20 debut. You are an amazing human being and I am truly touched by your thoughtful gesture. I’ll never forget this day. May God bless you always,” Chamika Karunaratne captioned his Instagram post.
Chamika Karunaratne was impressive and one of the bright spots for Sri Lanka in their ODI series loss last week. He made some crucial lower-order contributions with scores of 43* and 44* in the first couple of ODIs and bowled well throughout the series.
Hardik Pandya captured singing Sri Lankan national anthem!
A quite weird and funny incident was captured on Sunday moments before the game began. Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka had won the toss and inserted India into bat. The two sides then lined up for their respective national anthems before taking the field.
However, in an unusual scene, Hardik Pandya was spotted singing the Sri Lankan national anthem! While the Sri Lankan anthem is soothing to ears and one which is liked by fans around the world, this act by the all-rounder had everyone in splits.
Watch:
Is it just me that saw @hardikpandya7 singing the SL national anthem, then? #SLvInd pic.twitter.com/TuALbiRFu4
— Pranith (@Pranith16) July 25, 2021
Speaking of the game, Hardik Pandya’s struggles on slow, sluggish tracks continues as he laboured to a 12-ball 10 in the first T20I, failing to provide India with a flourish after the innings was set up by Shikhar Dhawan, Sanju Samson, and Suryakumar Yadav.
Hardik Pandya’s issues on slower pitches were laid bare during the IPL on the dull tracks in Chennai; in Sri Lanka as well, the pitch in Colombo isn’t offering much pace, and hence the swashbuckling batsman has found it difficult to hit his big shots. He registered 0 and 19 in the ODIs, before his painful 10 in the T20I.
India comfortably defended their total of 164 and won the game by 38 runs. The second T20I is scheduled for Tuesday evening at the same venue.
Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav And Prithvi Shaw Confirmed As Injury Replacements On England Tour
