ENG vs IND 2018: No Better Feeling Than Making The Ball Do All The Talking, Says Hardik Pandya After Shutting His Critics Up
Credits: Getty

Hardik Pandya explained the second day of the third England vs India Test as a dream day after picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in whites to put India in the driver’s seat.

The pressure was piling on Pandya. Hailed by many as the next Kapil Dev, the allrounder was not quite living up the expectations.  Recently, legendary pacer Michael Holding had launched an scathing attack towards him, slamming him for his poor performances.

Holding had told ESPNcricinfo Pandya was “nowhere near” Kapil and India needed to find “somebody” who could contribute more.

England vs India, Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya picked up 5 for 28 (England vs India, Credits: Getty)

Well, Pandya did not take long to make Holding eat his own words. In the very first outing after Holding’s comment, Pandya proved his worth in gold by blowing away England. He took his first five-wicket haul as England were bowled out for just 161.

The match was finely poised when Virat Kohli handed the ball to Pandya. England were 86 for 3 in reply to India’s 329. From thereon, it was just one way traffic as Pandya ran through England’s middle-order.

On his very first ball, Pandya dismissed England skipper Joe Root on the very first ball of his spell. The allrounder did not look back from there on.

England vs India, Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya (England vs India, Credits: Getty)

After going wicketless in his next two overs, he took as many as four in the next two. In his fourth over, he accounted for Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes to leave England reeling at 118 for 7. Bairstow edged one to KL Rahul at second slip while Pant took an excellent catch behind the stumps to dismiss last match’s centurion Woakes. In his fifth over, the allrounder dismissed Adil Rashid and Stuart Broad to complete his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests. It took him less than 5 overs to pick up the five wickets for just 28 runs.

Read More  Prithvi Shaw won't play in IPL 2024 any further? Sourav Ganguly provides a jaw-dropping update

As a result, England were all out for 161. India then finished the day on 124 for 2 to extend their overall lead to 292.

Pandya then took to Twitter to take a shot at his critics through a cryptic message, stating that he was delighted to let the ball do the talking. He also urged his teammates to complete the task, tweeting:

” There’s no better feeling than making the ball do all the talking. Dream day yesterday, picking up my first fifer in Test cricket. Now the focus shifts to the last 3 days of the Test match. Let’s do this ??! “

 

An avid cricket lover, I just love this game more than anything. Writing about cricket keeps me closer to the game.