IND vs NZ 2023: “Hopefully, We Can Continue Performing Like This” – Hardik Pandya After Crushing Victory Over New Zealand In 3rd T20I

The Hardik Pandya-led India National Cricket Team sealed the T20I series win by winning the third T20I against the Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand National Cricket Team in a dominant fashion by 168 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 1 (Wednesday).

India won the toss and opted to bat first in the match. The decision proved great as the batters did a fantastic job, especially youngster Shubman Gill.

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India posted a humongous 234/4 on the board with the help of an outstanding knock by Shubman Gill and good contributions by Rahul Tripathi, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. Shubman Gill scored an exceptional 126* runs off 63 balls, with 12 fours and 7 sixes.

Defending the target, Indian bowlers ran through the New Zealand batting unit and reduced them to 21/5 and then bundled the visitors out for just 66 in the 13th over. Hardik Pandya bagged a four-wicket haul while Shivam Mavi, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh picked up two wickets each.

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This was India’s biggest-ever win in T20Is and overall the biggest margin of victory in a game played between two full-member nations. Also, 66 registered by New Zealand is their lowest total against India in T20Is and overall 3rd lowest total in the format.

This Man of the Series and trophy goes out to the whole support staff – Hardik Pandya

India captain Hardik Pandya won the Player of the Series award for his 66 runs and 5 wickets in the series. After winning the award, he said:

“I don’t mind winning (man of the series award), but there were so many performances here that were exceptional. This Man of the Series and trophy goes out to the whole support staff, I’m happy for all of them.”

Hardik Pandya further said that as a captain, he tries to keep things pretty simple. Hardik Pandya elaborated:

“(On doing things out of the box) Not to be honest, I always play the game like this. I try to read what is required, not have preconceived ideas. In my captaincy, I look to keep it simple and back my gut. I have a simple rule – if I go down, I will go down on my terms.”

Hardik Pandya added that even though they like taking challenges, he wanted to play a normal game in the 3rd T20I because it was a series decider. Hardik Pandya said:

“We’ve spoken about taking challenges. When we played the IPL final, we felt the second innings was spicier but on this surface today I wanted to make it a normal game because it was a decider. Hence, we batted first. Hopefully, we can continue performing like this.”

Also Read: “Gill Is Kohli 2.0” – Twitter Impressed As Shubman Gill Slams A Fantabulous Hundred In Ahmedabad T20I vs New Zealand

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