Hardik Pandya, Always There When India Need the Last Act

He bowled the final over at the Chinnaswamy a decade ago. He bowled the final over at Kensington Oval two years ago. He bowled the 19th over on Thursday at the Wankhede.

If India are bowling second in a T20 World Cup match of immense significance and the contest goes down to the wire, Hardik Pandya is in the middle of it, ball in hand, typically bowling right after Jasprit Bumrah. Typically, Bumrah has bowled the pivotal over that tilted the match India’s way.

Typically, Hardik finishes the job.

The Unlikely Death Bowler

What he does is harder to pin down than what Bumrah does. Hardik doesn’t have Bumrah’s freakish skillset or laser precision. He bowls a decent yorker and an effective cutter when conditions offer grip, but you wouldn’t count him among the best at any one particular skill.

Sometimes, it feels like Hardik simply runs in and lets destiny do its thing. He was the bowler when Bangladesh imploded with one to get off three balls. He was the bowler when Suryakumar Yadav caught David Miller. And on Thursday, he was the bowler when Sam Curran picked out Tilak Varma when England needed 32 off 10 balls.

Hardik isn’t a gun death bowler like Bumrah or Arshdeep Singh. But he’s one of only 29 bowlers to have bowled at least 100 balls in death overs (17-20) in T20 World Cups. Of those 29, only eight have better economy rates than his 8.23.

Hardik vs Elite Death Bowlers (T20 World Cups)

The Unique Double

Of the 29 bowlers to have sent down 100 balls in death overs in T20 World Cups, Hardik is the only one to have also faced 100 balls in that phase as a batter. No one has scored more runs than him (307). Of the 13 batters with 100-plus runs, only Virat Kohli (197.50) and Michael Hussey (196.42) have better strike rates than Hardik’s 193.08—both top-order batters typically well-set when death overs begin.

Hardik, typically, has only just come to the crease. As he had on Thursday, when he got off the mark with a nonchalant ramp to fine third off Jamie Overton. He scored 27 off 12, pushing India’s total past 250.

The Complete Performance

His best contribution may have been the first over he bowled—the second of England’s innings—when he dismissed Phil Salt with a perfectly pitched outswinger before bowling four successive dots to Jos Buttler. He was swinging the ball while landing on a good length—a skill few specialist new-ball bowlers possess.

When Jacob Bethell drilled toward long-off in the final over, Hardik moved swiftly, picked the ball up, and threw to the far end, denying Bethell the strike. He won the semifinal with bat and ball at both ends, then again with his fielding.

Big matches demand big players. Hardik Pandya has been winning crucial T20 World Cup matches for a decade: 8.23 economy in death overs (better than Cummins, Malinga, Starc), 307 runs at 193.08 strike rate—more than anyone.

He’s the only player to bowl 100-plus balls and face 100-plus balls in T20 World Cup death overs. In the biggest matches, Hardik is everywhere India needs him to be. That’s a big-match boss.

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