‘I was very happy when I bowled 90.5 mph,’ says Hardik Pandya

Pandya hit a blistering 33-ball 51 to propel India to 198 for eight and then finished with excellent figures of 4/33 to destroy England’s batting. In the process, he became only the fourth player from full member nations to score a fifty and take four wickets in a T20I match.

Hardik Pandya said, “Good feeling, just a normal day in life. I am getting the results on things I have been working on. Nothing special to be honest, just another day in life.”

From bowling fast ⚡️ to scoring big 👌 and crediting those behind the scenes. 👏 👏

𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦 as @hardikpandya7 chats with @ishankishan51 after #TeamIndia's win in the first #ENGvIND T20I. 👍 👍 – By @Moulinparikh

Full interview 🎥 🔽https://t.co/1wJyFRDJqL pic.twitter.com/kIbTSD8mpB

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 8, 2022

The all-rounder had been out of action since the 2021 T20 World Cup but then returned to lead debutant franchise Gujarat Titans to their maiden Indian Premier League title. He last played Test cricket in Southampton on the England tour of 2018.

On his bowling Pandya said, “I was very happy when I bowled 90.5 mph. Credit goes to the support staff for their efforts behind the scenes. Once the Ireland series was over, we never rested. I trained for six days straight.”

Pandya, who made his international comeback against South Africa at home in June, added that he would play only if he was fully fit and able to give his all in the middle.

For his brilliant show with the bat and ball, @hardikpandya7 is adjudged Player of the Match as #TeamIndia win the first T20I by 50 runs.

Take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Scorecard – https://t.co/Xq3B0KTRD1 #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/oEavD7COnZ

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 7, 2022

When asked about his batting, he said, “ Plan was very simple. As you already know tha it is a conscious effort by everyone. We will be making sure that we’ll express ourselves. We’ll go out there and enjoy ourselves. It was exciting to see everyone start hitting from the second ball itself, which is a good sign. Someday, we might end up losing five quick wickets, but more important is to keep this intent and it will add 10-15 runs more to the total.

“I was looking to play risk-free cricket. scoring fours are more fun than hitting sixes, he added”.

He signed off by saying, “Keep working hard without thinking about the result. Success is the by-product of your hard work which you put behind the scenes.”