‘Should learn from Dhoni, Kohli’: Hardik trolled on social media after denying Tilak second T20 fifty

Although India won the third fixture of the five-match series comfortably by seven wickets, a section of fans were taken aback when, with two runs required off 14 balls, Hardik Pandya decided to tonk Rovman Powell for a six.

Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya (R), of India, after winning the third T20I cricket match against West Indies. | Photo Credit: AFP

India skipper Hardik Pandya was criticised on social media after he denied batter Tilak Varma an opportunity to score his second consecutive fifty in Twenty20 Internationals against West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Although India won the third fixture of the five-match series comfortably by seven wickets, some fans were taken aback when, with two runs required off 14 balls, Hardik decided to finish things off by tonking pacer Rovman Powell for a maximum over long-off.

Tilak remained 49 not out off 37 deliveries.

Hardik Pandya has been catching flak on social media after the skipper denied Tilak Varma the opportunity to score a second consecutive fifty in the third #WIvIND T20I.

Your thoughts? 🤔pic.twitter.com/2j1UA5gerQ

— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) August 9, 2023

Comparisons were immediately drawn with Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Sanju Samson, who on separate occasions, had allowed their batting partners to reach their respective milestones.

A leader should encourage the youngster by giving him the chance to score his fifty when he's playing his debut international series. Very bad Hardik Pandya. Also it's not a World Cup or any other tournament where NRR is important.

— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) August 8, 2023

During the World T20 (now T20 World Cup) semifinal against South Africa in 2014, Dhoni came in to bat in the 19th over. He was on strike when India needed one off seven balls.

READ: Suryakumar fireworks, Tilak help India keep T20I series alive

The then-India skipper, however, let his deputy, who had scored the bulk of the runs that day, have his moment by hitting the winning runs. Dhoni played a defensive block off the last delivery of the 19th over to pass the strike on to Kohli, who eventually finished on an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls, hitting the final ball for a boundary.

When MS Dhoni let Virat Kohli lay the finishing touch 📹

Revisit the sweet gesture by captain Dhoni from the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/EKcWsCh9r1

— ICC (@ICC) December 23, 2020

On May 11, during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals (RR), leggie Suyash Sharma tried to bowl an intentional “five wides” to Samson to deny Yashasvi Jaiswal, batting on 94 at the non-striker’s end, the chance to score a hundred. RR was only three away from victory.

The RR skipper, however, saw through the trick and shuffled across to block the delivery. Although Royals won, Jaiswal could only get to an unbeaten 98 with a four off Shardul Thakur.

In 2011, Kohli had a hand in helping Chris Gayle reach his maiden IPL hundred. With a single required to win against KKR off 13 deliveries, Kohli blocked and passed on the strike to Gayle. The Jamaican, having finished things off in style, enveloped Kohli in a hug.

Everyone's talking about Hardik Pandya & how Dhoni let Virat score final runs -

Here's a throwback video -

When King Kohli 👑 defended the ball, just to let Gayle score his maiden 💯 in IPL ❤#HardikPandya#SuryakumarYadav#TilakVarma#INDvsWIpic.twitter.com/dhfHYkNeDW

— Rajput Shivam Singh🚩 (@Shivam_singh062) August 9, 2023

On Tuesday, thanks to a blistering knock from Suryakumar Yadav (83 off 44 balls) and Kuldeep Yadav’s three wickets that restricted the Windies to 159 for five in the first innings., India kept the five-match series alive at 2-1.

The teams will now travel to Florida to play the final two games of the series on Saturday and Sunday.