T20 World Cup 2022: "Devastated, gutted, hurt" - Hardik Pandya pens emotional note after India gets a thrashing at the hands of England in the 2nd semi-final
India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya penned a heartfelt note after the Men in Blue crashed out of the T20 World Cup on Thursday, November 10. India suffered a heartbreaking 10-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the second semi-final.
In two separate posts on his Twitter account, Hardik thanked his teammates and support staff for their dedication and hard work and also the fans for their support.
Expressing his disappointment with the outcome, Pandya tweeted:
“Devastated, gutted, hurt. Tough to take, for all of us. To my teammates, I’ve enjoyed the bond that we built - we fought for each other every step of the way. Thank you to our support staff for their endless dedication and hardwork for months on end.”
Devastated, gutted, hurt. Tough to take, for all of us. To my teammates, I’ve enjoyed the bond that we built - we fought for each other every step of the way. Thank you to our support staff for their endless dedication and hardwork for months on end. https://t.co/HlVUC8BNq7
In his second tweet, Hardik Pandya posted a few pictures of the match while also expressing his gratitude towards the fans who backed the team endlessly.
He wrote:
“To our fans who backed us everywhere we went, we’re forever grateful. It wasn’t meant to be but we’ll reflect and keep fighting.”
To our fans who backed us everywhere we went, we’re forever grateful. It wasn’t meant to be but we’ll reflect and keep fighting. 🇮🇳❤️ https://t.co/smFBRuTd3J
Hardik Pandya's phenomenal knock goes in vain as India get knocked out of the T20 World Cup
Hardik Pandya was the standout performer for India with the bat. It was his blistering knock towards the end which propelled India to a competitive score of 168 in their allotted 20 overs after being put into bat by Jos Buttler.
India struggled to get going in the powerplay, scoring just 38 runs at the expense of KL Rahul’s wicket. Rohit Sharma’s struggles in the tournament continued as he managed just 27 off 28 deliveries before perishing. And while Virat Kohli scored his fourth half-century of the competition, it came off 40 deliveries.
Had it not been for Hardik Pandya’s whirlwind 63 off 33 deliveries, India might have struggled to get past the 150-run mark.
The English openers never really gave the Indian bowlers an opportunity during the run-chase. It was a clinical display by both Alex Hales (86*) and Buttler (80*) as they made light work of the Indian bowling attack, racing off to 63/0 at the end of the powerplay.
India could never really recover from the early onslaught as both batters kept toying with the bowling. While it was Hales who set up the run-chase with his fireworks, the finishing touch was provided by Buttler as England romped home with all 10 wickets in hand in the 16th over.
England will now face Pakistan in the final at the MCG on Sunday (November 13), in what will be a repeat of the 1992 ODI World Cup final.