Hardik Pandya was the star of the show as Team India romped to a five-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 match on Sunday. After India's win, Pandya came in for some much-deserved appreciation from his wife Natasa Stankovic, whose special gesture has melted the hearts of cricket fans.
Pandya had a huge role to play as he first collected three wickets including the all-important dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan, followed by an unbeaten 33-run knock to inspire India to a resounding win.
Natasa, who was a constant presence in the stands during IPL 2022, is often Hardik's first cheerleader and she the same exact thing after the India-Pakistan match as well.
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Taking to her Instagram stories, Natasa posted a picture of Hardik as she had a sweet caption for it, as she called the all-rounder a 'star'.
Pandya was on song as he scored the winning runs for India in a chase that went right down to the wire. Pakistan had scored 147 runs in their respective 20 overs, but India chased down the target with 2 balls to spare.
Speaking after India's win, in a video posted by bcci.tv on Monday, the all-rounder revealed that he felt no pressure despite the fact India needed 7 runs from the final over, and Jadeja got dismissed on the first ball itself.
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"Well, I didn't feel scoring seven runs would be that big a task (in the final over) because he (Nawaz) is a left-arm spinner and there were five fielders inside the circle. Had there been even 10 fielders outside the circle, it wouldn't have made a difference in my approach, as I had to just hit over the top," said Pandya.
"Having said that, I showed emotions only once during my innings when you (Jadeja) got out on the first ball of the 20th over. The pressure wasn't there (on me). I felt the bowler was under more pressure, so I was just waiting for him to commit a mistake. The way he made the field placing, I knew he would bowl back of a length and I was ready (to hit a six)," he added.
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