"He was under pressure coming into the T20 World Cup" - Wasim Jaffer lauds Hardik Pandya's returns in India's T20 World Cup triumph

Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has praised all-rounder Hardik Pandya for stepping up in India's T20 World Cup win. Hardik made important contributions with both the bat and the ball throughout the tournament, including big scalps of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller in the final against South Africa.

Jaffer shed light on the kind of pressure that Pandya was under after a poor IPL 2024 season. He had been under heavy scrutiny from fans after his move back to the Mumbai Indians. This makes the all-rounder's performances at the T20 World Cup even more impressive according to the former cricketer.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Wasim Jaffer had to say about Hardik Pandya (3:52):

"Would like to specially mention Hardik because he was under pressure coming into the T20 World Cup. But hats off to him for the way he stepped up with both bat and ball and delivered. We all know what kind of pressure he was under but he put his hand up and performed exceedingly well."

Hardik picking up David Miller's wicket in the final was down to a sensational running catch from Suryakumar Yadav, where the latter maintained his balance by keeping the ball in play. On this, Jaffer added (5:20):

"Suryakumar Yadav's catch was a game-changing moment according to me. If that catch wouldn't have happened and if it would have gone for a six, 10 runs from four (five) balls would have been an easy job for Miller."

Wasim Jaffer believes it goes on to show why it is said that catches win matches and how crucial these small moments are in the context of the match. He reckons India won the game because they won such crucial moments.

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Wasim Jaffer on Jasprit Bumrah's sensational spell

Jasprit Bumrah bowled the 16th over when South Africa needed just 30 runs to win off 30 balls and conceded just four runs against Klaasen and Miller. He then came back to bowl the 18th over and conceded just two runs, dismissing Marco Jansen and getting his team in a strong position to win the game.

On this, Wasim Jaffer stated (3:34):

"Bumrah being Bumrah bowled incredibly well and rightly deserves to win the Player of the Tournament award. The way he bowled throughout the tournament and in the final, hats off to him."

Jasprit Bumrah ended up as the third-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 15 scalps from eight games. He maintained a ridiculous economy rate of 4.17 and deservingly won the Player of the Tournament award.