"Dare anyone to boo Hardik Pandya now"- Ambati Rayudu
Updated - 30 Jun 2024, 12:53 PM
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Former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu has dared fans to tease Hardik Pandya after the latter's marvelous show in ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final. Hardik Pandya defended 16 runs in the final over to drive India to victory against South Africa.
Hardik Pandya picked up 2 wickets and conceded just 8 runs to drive India to victory. Notably, He picked 3 wickets for 20 runs in the match at an economy of 6.70. Earlier, he also scored an unbeaten 5 runs off 2 balls.
Hardik also performed well in the entire tournament. He picked 11 wickets in 8 games at an economy of 17.36. He slammed 32 runs against Afghanistan. He also scored an unbeaten 50 runs against Bangladesh, a crucial unbeaten 27* against Australia and 23 against England.
Ambati Rayudu dares fans to boo Hardik Pandya
After Hardik Pandya's successful over in the match in ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final, Ambati Rayudu backed him against fans. Rayudu dared fans to boo Hardik Pandya in future. "I dare anyone to boo Hardik Pandya now", he said. Ambati Rayudu's comments came after many fans teased and abused Hardik Pandya during IPL 2024.
Notably, Pandya shifted his base back to Mumbai Indians and the franchise made him the skipper in IPL 2024 replacing Rohit Sharma. This did not go well with many Mumbai Indians and Rohit Sharma fans who started a bashing game against Pandya on social media. They even booed him in stadiums whenever he arrived on the field. Even Mumbai Indians did not support him and shouted Rohit Sharma's name to tease him.
This also affected his role as Mumbai Indians' skipper. MI was the worst performer in IPL 2024 winning just 4 games out of 10. They also failed to qualify for playoffs despite a powerful squad in the tournament. Moreover, there were also reports that all was not well inside the Mumbai Indians squad. There was news of a divide between both captains and a political group inside the team.
Hardik Pandya made a strong comeback in ICC T20 World Cup 2024
However, Hardik Pandya made a strong comeback in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 by adding runs with both bat and ball. He played the wonderful role of four-arm seamer and also stormed runs with the bat. In the final, he gave a stunning show towards the end.
India made a stunning effort to defeat South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final. Batting first, India piled up 176-7 in 1st innings. Virat Kohli shattered a 76-run knock while Axar Patel scored 47.
Rayudu said "I dare anyone to boo Hardik Pandya now". pic.twitter.com/72uMeXq8IT
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 29, 2024
For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj and Anrich Nortje picked 2 wickets each. South Africa started the chase well with a 39-run knock by Quinton de Kock. Later, Heinrich Klaasen scored an unbeaten 52 runs. However, Proteas could only reach 169 in the end, losing the game by 7 runs.
Notably, South Africa almost pulled up the victory towards the end, when they needed just an odd 26 runs off 20 balls. However, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh bowled a stunning pace attack to clinch the victory for India and end their drought for an ICC title for over 10 years.
