The third T20 between India and West Indies is underway at St. Kitts. Batting first, the hosts have made 164/5 in their 20 overs. West Indies once again had a very good opening partnership. Both openers added 58 runs in 7.2 overs and were looking really good for a big score. But the partnership was broken by Hardik Pandya.
He dismissed Brandon King, who scored a blistering fifty in the second game, for 20 runs. With this wicket, Hardik has made a unique record in T20Is. The all-rounder has become the first player to take 50 wickets with 500 runs in T20 internationals.
He returned with a figure of 1/19 in his four overs and caused trouble for the opposition batters. With this, he also completed 50 T20I wickets and became the 6th Indian bowler to do so. Earlier, in the second game, Ravindra Jadeja completed his 50 T20 international wickets.
Hardik Pandya becomes the first Indian to score 500+ runs and take 50+ wickets in men's T20Is.
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) August 2, 2022
Hardik is the 11th men’s cricketer to do so, and overall he is the 30th player to complete the double of 50 wickets and 500 runs. Notably, the only Indian player to break this record is Deepti Sharma. She has scored 521 runs with 65 T20I wickets to her name.
Hardik has shown some great form since his comeback from injury. He has picked up eight T20I wickets and six in ODIs in 2022, with two four-wicket hauls. For the West Indies, Kyle Mayers was the star with the bat. He scored his second T20I half-century and made 73 runs off 50 balls, including eight fours and four maximums.
For India, the veteran pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, got 2/35 in his four overs. Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh picked up one wicket each. India will be looking to win this game to take a 2-1 lead in the series. However, whichever team wins this game will have an advantage over the opposition.
