IND vs WI: 'Hardik Pandya Denied Tilak Varma His Half-Century Because He Dedicated His Maiden 50 To Rohit Sharma's Daughter'

While Team India got back to winning ways with a clinical performance in the third T20I against West Indies on Tuesday (August 8) but the fans have been busy slamming captain Hardik Pandya.

The India skipper is facing the wrath of the fans not for making any captaincy blunders on the field but for denying Tilak Varma a fifty. Hardik Pandya had the opportunity to let his younger teammate hit the winning runs and complete a well-deserved fifty. But for reasons known only to him, the allrounder decided to deny Tilak Varma the opportunity to score his second T20I fifty in a row.

In the 18th over, Tilak Varma took a single to reach 49 and take the team’s total to 158 while the target was 160 runs. With two balls remaining, Hardik Pandya could have taken a single on the fifth ball or defended both remaining deliveries. However, he decided to leave everyone in shock by hitting the fifth ball for a six to leave Tilak Varma stranded on 49.

Fans drag Rohit Sharma and his daughter to taunt Hardik Pandya:

As soon as the game ended, the fans took to social media to vent their frustration at Hardik Pandya. While some questioned his leadership, some called him selfish for denying his younger teammate a well-deserved fifty. And as Hardik Pandya was being trolled on social media, a few fans even decided to drag Rohit Sharma’s daughter in it.

The users started sharing a clip of Tilak Varma from the second T20I where he spoke about his adorable relationship with Rohit’s daughter. After reaching his fifty in the second match, the left-handed batsman dedicated it to the Samaira. While sharing the clip, the users claimed that Hardik Pandya denied Varma the fifty only because he mentioned Rohit’s daughter after the second game.

For the uninitiated, Hardik Pandya previously played under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in Mumbai Indians before being released by the franchise. Many believe that the all-rounder does not share a cordial relationship with his India teammate since then.

Hardik pandya took revenge because tilak verma mentioned Rohit daughters name in previous( 2nd) T20i.@hardikpandya7#HardikPandya #TilakVarma #Dhoni #RohitSharma #ViratKohli? #OMG2 #RaghavChaddha #BCCI #INDvWI #IndianCricketTeam pic.twitter.com/y462nj4fs1

— Patel & Deshpande academy (@santoshrakh20) August 8, 2023

Talking about the game, India defeated West Indies by seven wickets to keep the five-match series alive. Chasing 160, India reached home with more than two overs remaining. Suryakumar Yadav starred with the bat, scoring 83 off 44 balls while Varma scored 49.