IND vs ENG: “Match Toh Finish Kar, Then Enjoy” (Finish The Game First!),” Hardik Pandya Reveals What He Told Rishabh Pant

On Sunday, July 17, during the third and final ODI against England, Pant slammed an unbeaten 125 off just 113 deliveries. In the series-deciding match, the wicketkeeper-batsman and Hardik Pandya put up a 133-run fifth-wicket partnership to enable Team India reach their target of 260 runs with five wickets remaining.

The combination was being chatted up by Hardik Pandya. Rishabh Pant was also. They occasionally exchanged gestures with one another. After India had lost four wickets in the chase, what were the two most intriguing middle-order batters in cricket talking about? 

Hardik Pandya Shares What He Was Saying To Rishabh Pant Throughout Their Partnership

“I was just repeating the same thing and even told him that I am repeating it too much!” At the conclusion of an outstanding combination that enabled India to defeat England in the ODI series, Hardik Pandya would speak. 

What was it though? “Let’s have a partnership, take the match as close as possible, and finish the match.If you then want to enjoy (Pandya smiles), enjoy (“phir tujhe enjoy karna hai to kar le”). Match toh close kar! (Finish the match first!),” Pandya revealed.  

“And then he opened up (later on in the innings). Everyone knows when Rishabh starts hitting, you sit down and say okay you bat! (Hum baith jaate hain, Chalo aap khelo!) 

It seems as though they only needed to determine that they must remain there in order for the match to be won. The aim, the pressure of a decider, and the bowlers for England didn’t matter. 

Naturally, Hardik Pandya was correct, too. The confidence, though, was something. An example of his framing 

“The talent that he has and the talent that I perhaps have – there was no need to take any risks at that stage. Without any risks, we could score those runs as there were not many runs to get. The only way England could come back is if we lose back-to-back wickets.” 

Unusual for Pandya, he inserted the word “shayad” in Hindi in the middle instead of the word “maybe.” Normally, he doesn’t. His style is not false humility. That is so 1980s. 

The essential idea is that these players just needed to persevere in order to “complete” the game since they are aware of their potential. In the nicest manner imaginable, “finish toh kar” sums up what was expected of Pant: a drive, an urging, a dare, a challenge. 

I Was Repeating Just One Thing: Hardik Pandya

For the past two years, Pant has been living on another planet, stringing together triumphs and setbacks that mortals would be happy to experience over the course of a lifetime. The last day’s collapse in the Adelaide Test and the expression on his face as he limped to the pavilion told a tale.

The game-winning tonne in Brisbane, where he meticulously avoided hitting Nathan Lyon over covers, proved that calm really does prevail in the centre of the storm. When Pant disappears, it might appear chaotic, and it actually is, but that brain is working. 

“So again and again, I was just repeating one thing,” Pandya would say. “He did exactly that. Initially, when I went in, he got a bit stuck, but the flow developed in partnership.” 

These two also define becoming trapped differently. Sometimes there could be two balls and no runs.  

“Koi nahi, Rishabh. Koi nahi.” Hardik Pandya delivered the consoling statement. Pant has now seen two deliveries without scoring a run. For his cricket, too lengthy. Pandya on the other end of the line was aware of his partner, his strategies, and his eagerness to succeed. All he required was a verbal touch on the shoulder. 

Criticism At The World Cup Semifinal

The two had received criticism for their cricket in the same location, Old Trafford, only three years prior. When Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya collided in the middle of the field during the World Cup semifinal match against New Zealand, India was 24/4 and chasing 240.

They were together for only 77 balls, increasing India’s total by only 47 runs. Their expulsion? Oh, they would irritate Indians for days to come. Unable to resist, a 21-year-old Pant sank on his back knee and attempted to clear the long boundary over midwicket. Pandya, 25, was unable to restrain himself from attempting a slog sweep, which resulted in a top edge and, ultimately, a catch at midwicket. 

Rewind to July 17th, Sunday. When the two teams re-met in the middle at Old Trafford, India was 188 runs short of their objective and had lost four wickets. in an ODI against the world champions in the series finale.

It seems appropriate that a relationship that had terminated at 71 in 2019 started at 72. like a fresh book or possibly a new chapter. Pant, 24, and Pandya, 28, are both men. 

Since that tragic July evening three years ago, Pant and Pandya have experienced leadership, from leading their IPL franchises to leading India. They have also gained experience in the game. They still like playing the game their way. 

A Majestic Partnership

The two batted together for 19.1 overs, scoring a total of 19 boundaries while doing so, matching the 5.62 runs needed. It was more a combination of method and madness, despite what some people would claim, rather than a method to their madness.

The duo appeared cool and collected at various points in the innings, yet at other times they were just two vicious guys scoring runs for pleasure. Chaos and calm. 

Nine Indian hitters have been defeated by Reece Topley, with players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli taking advantage of the left-arm pacer to right-handed batter angle advantage over the wicket. The straightforward solution would have been a left-hander facing more of the left armer.

However, Hardik Pandya made the decision to target England’s finest bowler since Pant was taking so long to get the score going. He moved two steps to his right, outside the off-stump, in response to Topley pushing the ball away so that he would be in a better position to make contact with the ball as it moved away.

Pandya, like all successful authoritarians, cut off the opposition’s main avenue and forced them to look elsewhere for solutions. Similar to his first 4-fer, his was a fifty that brought his team back into the game. 

India’s number 17 batsman, Pandya’s partner, increased the craziness near the finish of his innings after showing an unusual lack of urgency for the majority of his innings. Given the length and breadth on offer, targeting Craig Overton in his second spell was only fair.

But in the last moments of the chase, Pant used force against David Willey. The six he smashed off the speedster in the 40th over of the chase while batting at 89 may have served as a warning flag. He smoked it over deep mid-wicket while bending his back knee. In the game against New Zealand, he had attempted a shot against spinner Mitchell Santner at the same end of the field, but had failed to complete it. 

The five fours on the ground pointing in five different directions were simply Rishabh being Rishabh. He had the guts to take a single off the final ball after hitting a flat-batted hard shot down at long-off, a short ball dragged towards square leg, a hammer of a cover drive, a paddle to fine leg, and a smash down the ground. just so he could prove a point? to reverse sweep Joe Root and win the ODI series to cap up India’s visit to England. Such serenity. Such disarray  

It’s Important For Middle Order To Score Runs: Hardik Pandya

“It’s important (middle order getting runs),” Hardik Pandya would say. “The management also gets a relief that the middle order is confident and can get. First the top three used to get runs, and we would not get many opportunities.

There was not much experience for the middle order but now the middle order is coming and thinking I am going to cement my place here. Then when the top order performs wah hi wah hai! (It will be wow, too cool!)” 

Player of the game was Pant. Hardik Pandya was the player of the series. They worked as a team to pull India across the finish line in a crucial ODI encounter against the reigning World Cup champions a year before the next tournament. They let every blade of grass at Old Trafford know it. 2019 seems far away. 2023 is nearer. 

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