Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya made a schoolboy error while fielding in the third ODI against England at Maharastra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday.
During England’s chase of 330 runs, Hardik dropped a sitter after Ben Stokes went for a glory shot with a chip over mid-off. The Baroda cricketer positioned himself well as the ball lopped up in the air but ended up dropping a simple catch.
The reactions from captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma were quite expressive as both couldn’t believe that Stokes was handed an extra life. However, the English all-rounder failed to capitalise on the lifeline as he was caught by Shikhar Dhawan at deep mid-wicket while trying to whack the full-toss bowled by T Natarajan in the 11th over.
After the dismissal, Hardik looked like the most relieved man. He celebrated the moment by completely bowing down to Dhawan and thanked him for taking the catch to send Stokes back into the pavilion.
Here is the video:
Just Hardik things#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/0LjDiQ8y8E
— Lofted drive (@DriveLofted) March 28, 2021
Earlier in the day, India posted 329 on the scoreboard in 48.2 overs. Indian openers Dhawan and Rohit gave the perfect start with a 103-run stand, but England spinners helped the visitors bounce back.
The duo of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali removed the openers as well as captain Virat Kohli. Soon, KL Rahul was outdone by part-timer Liam Livingstone to reduce hosts at 157/4.
Then, Hardik and Rishabh Pant paired up with a counter-attacking 99-run stand to bring back India in the game. While Pant scored 78 from 62, Hardik smashed 64 from 44 deliveries. Shardul Thakur also made a valuable contribution with a quickfire 30 off 21 balls to take India to 329.
