‘I needed…’- Hardik Pandya reacts to playing IND vs ENG T20 World Cup 2026 Semifinal before Mahieka Sharma
The premier all-rounder of the Indian side, Hardik Pandya, has reacted to playing in the semifinal of the 2026 season of the Men's T20 World Cup against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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Hardik Pandya was one of the biggest reasons for India to win the T20 World Cup 2024 against South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval, as his presence in the middle order with the bat contributed significantly, while the management could also go with two premier pacers besides getting a few overs of pace with the ball throughout the competition.
The same situation happened in the T20 World Cup 2026 as the blue brigade continued to go with the same two fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, with Hardik providing them a few overs with the ball, and more importantly, he bowled at least a couple of overs with the new ball before returning in the death phase of the game.
See Also: Match officials revealed for IND vs NZ ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Final in Ahmedabad
In the semifinal clash of the tournament against England at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Hardik smashed a fine knock of 27 runs and ended up with decent bowling figures of 2/38, including the penultimate over that he bowled, along with the over of the left-handed batter, Sam Curran.
Hardik Pandya’s comment on Mahieka Sharma in T20 WC 2026 goes viral
Hardik has played a total of 108 innings in the T20Is and has smashed 2270 runs at an average of 28.37 and a strike rate of 145.98 with the help of nine half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 71 runs. With the ball, he has picked up 113 wickets in 124 innings at an average of 27.05 and an economy rate of 8.33.
“My son and Mahieka were in the stands watching me. I needed to perform well and show them how enthusiastic I am.” Hardik Pandya spoke of his inspiration for doing well in that clash as India qualified for the final of the event and will face New Zealand.
India posted a massive score of 253 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs before the opposition was restricted to 246/7 in 20 overs and fell short of the target by seven runs, despite a superb century by Jacob Bethell.
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Subhradeep Choudhury
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