"Boos to claps" - Fans react to Hardik Pandya's quick-fire 50 in IND vs BAN T20 World Cup Super 8 match

Team India's Hardik Pandya notched up a blistering half-century in their Super 8 match of the 2024 T20 World Cup against Bangladesh in Antigua on Saturday, June 22. The talismanic all-rounder's batting exploits helped the Men in Blue register an impressive total.

Bangladesh won the toss and chose to field first. India were off to a decent start, courtesy of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant's knocks of 37 and 36, respectively. Pandya walked out to bat at No. 6 when India were 108/4 in 11.4 overs. The right-handed batter stole the show. He remained unbeaten on 50 off just 27 balls with the help of three sixes and four boundaries.

He stitched together a stunning 53-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Shivam Dube, putting India in a commanding position. Pandya earned widespread praise on social media for his quick-fire fifty.

Here are some of the top reactions:

Severan Indian supporters appreciated Pandya for turning things around at the 2024 T20 World Cup. This comes in light of him being under the scanner for his poor form in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League.

"You may troll him for his behaviour but Hardik Pandya always performs for India in clutch situations. The man is silencing his critics in every other match of this." wrote a fan

"Mumbai Indians fans have given unlimited hate to Hardik Pandya,but this guy kept the smile on his face and didn't break down in tough times. And responded with a brilliant performance for Team India. He is the clutch God who always performs when it matters." commented another

"Hardik Pandya the saviour again, what a redemption after IPL 2024. The clutch and big match player for team india when needed the most." chimed in yet another

Hardik Pandya hit three fours in the final over, helping India register 196/5 after 20 overs. Tanzim Hasan Sakib was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers, bagging two important wickets while giving away 32 runs from four overs.

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"That is like a good score here" - Hardik Pandya on India's 197-run total

At a mid-innings interview, Hardik Pandya opined that India have posted an above-par total on the Antigua pitch. Backing the Indian bowlers to do the job in the second half of the match, he said:

"Wicket looked alright, the par would have been 180, but we got 197 I think that is like a good score here. Hopefully with our bowling line-up, with a little bit of consistency, we will be able to do well."

Pandya also lauded Shivam Dube for assessing the situation well. He pointed out how the southpaw took his time to get set before going for the big hits, adding:

"At the point Shivam went, couple of wickets were lost. He had to take his time, did well to recover. His strengths is to take down spin, when the time came when we could go hard, we could go after that."

It is worth mentioning that Pandya played a fine knock in the team's previous encounter against Afghanistan as well, scoring 32 runs off 24 balls.