Fifth ODI, South Africa vs India 2018, Port Elizabeth, Hardik Pandya,
Indian players (Credits: Twitter)

Expectations were sky high from Hardik Pandya when he arrived in South Africa. Prior to the departure to South Africa, the all-rounder had cemented his spot in the team across formats with some consistent performance. India is will face Proteas in the fifth ODI on Tuesday (February 13).

Pandya’s career took a turn for the better from the Champions Trophy. In the final which India lost, Pandya was the sole bright spot, as he slammed 76 runs off 43 balls in a heavy 180-run defeat.

His impressive performances saw him getting a place in the Test team for the Sri Lanka series. The Baroda star went on to justify the decision by scoring a quick-fire fifty on his debut. In the third match, he bagged his maiden Man of the Match award in Tests after scoring 108 off 96 balls.

He further enhanced his reputation with his brilliant performance in the five-match ODI series against Australia. He scored 222 runs and took 6 wickets to win his first Man of the Series award.

Not surprisingly, expectations were high from Pandya for the South Africa tour. The expectations only soared after he slammed 93 in the first Test. However, things only went downhill from thereon.

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Pandya has failed to get going in South Africa (Credits: AP)

In the next five innings, he managed to score only 26 runs. His performance with the ball was equally unimpressive as he managed to pick up just 3 wickets. His poor form continued in the ongoing ODI series too. And it seems the fans finally have had enough after the all-rounder failed to deliver in the fourth ODI.

Pandya failed to help the team finish strongly after Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli set the tone for a good score with a mammoth 158-run stand. Pandya scored only 9 runs and picked up just one wicket as India lost the game by 5 wickets (DLS method).

The fans took to Twitter to express their displeasure over the allrounder’s performance. The disgruntled fans also suggested that the team should drop Pandya for the upcoming fifth ODI.

Here are some reactions:

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