India and West Indies head into the final leg of the long tour to Florida with the series now at 2-1. India, won the third T20 game at Guyana by 7 wickets thanks to Surya Kumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. The win in Guyana came as a welcome relief for Hardik Pandya, who has been called out for his captaincy. It is to be noted that India have not lost a bilateral series to West Indies, but a win for the home team on Saturday will break that streak.
Hardik Pandya draws flak from the fans –
Despite winning the game on Tuesday, the Indian captain Hardik Pandya had to face a lot of flak. The 29 year old hit the winning runs when he hit Rovman Powell for a six. This was despite India having 14 balls left as Tilak Varma was batting on 49. This would have been yet another 50 for the 20 year old who has been having a breakout debut series for India.
Irfan Pathan takes to Twitter to take a dig at Hardik Pandya –
Former Indian all-rounder turned commentator Irfan Pathan has shared the dressing room with Hardik Pandya for Baroda for a long time. The 38 year old took to Twitter and wrote “Mushkil Kaam Aap Karo, Aasan Kaam Main Kar Leta Hu. Suna.. Suna Sa Lagta Hai”. (You do the difficult part, while I take the easy bit.. sounds familiar doesn’t it).
Mushkil kaam aap karo, Asaan kaam mein Kar leta hoo. Suna suna Sa lagta hai…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) August 9, 2023
This was a clear dig at the Indian captain who had been associated with a major brand for sports fantasy team making. There was another message hidden that Hardik Pandya took the icing on the cake by scoring the winning runs. This after, Surya Kumar Yadav and young Tilak Varma had fought tooth and nail on a difficult pitch to chase down 160.
India getting ready for double header –
The Indian cricket team will end their tour of Caribbean, with the final 2 T20 games to be played at Florida. The games will be played on Saturday and Sunday in front of a capacity crowd. If India overcome the 2-1 deficit to win the series 3-2 they would have done a series clean sweep. India had already won the Test series 1-0 and ODI series with a 2-1 margin.