Always special to play for the country: Hardik Pandya after his 3-wicket haul against Ireland

After his three-wicket haul against Ireland in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya said it was always special for him to play for the country.

After his three-wicket haul against Ireland in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya said it was always special for him to play for the country. Pandya picked up three wickets in his four-over spell and gave 27 runs at an economy rate of 6.80 on Wednesday.

Speaking after the first inning, Pandya said God has been kind to him since he can always contribute to the World Cups. He also praised Axar Patel for his 'outstanding effort' in the first inning. "Always special to play for the country, always good to play for pride. I have been able to contribute to the World Cups, god has been kind. That was an outstanding effort by Axar, those are the catches when you let your hand-eye coordination let in," Pandya said.

He added one needs to be disciplined and hit the right areas while bowling on New York's pitch. "I really liked the first wicket, don't hit the stumps often as I usually bowl short of a length. I needed to be fuller than back of a length today. On this kind of surface, you need to be disciplined and hit the right areas. It's always fantastic to see the crowd, we Indians are everywhere, we rule the world, good to have their support," he added.

Recapping the first inning of the match, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first. The Indian bowlers put pressure on Irish batters from the start and had them struggling at 50/8. Some fightback from Gerath Delany (26 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Joshua Little (14 in 13 balls, with two fours) helped Ireland push the total to 96 in 16 overs. Hardik Pandya (3/27), Arshdeep Singh (2/35), Jasprit Bumrah (2/6), Mohammed Siraj (1/13) and Axar Patel (1/3) put up fine bowling performances.

The Men in Blue need to make 97 runs to win the match against Ireland on Wednesday. (ANI)

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