Kolkata: Nothing seems to get to Hardik Pandya, or so we thought till Anrich Nortje set off for the inconsequential run off the last ball of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Brought down to his knees by a win that no one saw coming when South Africa needed 30 from 30 balls, Pandya broke into tears till he was sobbing inconsolably. Thirty off 30 became 16 from 6 because of that over from hell from Jasprit Bumrah and outstanding bowling from Arshdeep Singh, but it was the heart of Pandya that shone through that frenzied phase.

Twenty six of 24, and still pretty gettable despite Bumrah restricting South Africa to just four runs from his penultimate over despite David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen being at the middle, India had to turn to Pandya. Anything that had to give had to essentially come in this over because Bumrah had one over left and India still weren’t sure the game would stretch till the 20th. Pandya ensured that. First ball of the 17th over was bowled wide, teasing Klaasen to throw the kitchen sink at it, and he did but without moving his feet. Caught Pant, bowled Pandya, and India were living in hope again.

Miller was still unbeaten and along with him stayed alive the chance of a win for South Africa. The equation had become stiffer by then, thanks to Bumrah conceding two runs in the 18th over and Arshdeep four in the next. But Miller has been here before, coincidentally at Gujarat Titans when Pandya was captain in their debut season win. If anyone knew how to get to Miller, it was Pandya. “Last over, I knew I had to execute my plans. All of a sudden my run-up speed increases. I have been in this situation, I enjoy the pressure situation,” said Pandya after the match.

Slower balls wouldn’t have cut it against a batter who has a phenomenal strike rate in IPL slog overs where fast bowlers routinely take the pace off the ball. So Pandya went for the low, wide full toss. What followed was quite possibly the most inspiring cricket ever played by India not involving a batter. Miller connected well, aiming straight and almost getting the distance at first glance, but apparently not well enough to get past Suryakumar Yadav. Running around from wide long-off, Yadav barely clutched on to the ball, keeping his balance inside the boundary rope long enough to throw the ball, jump over the rope and get back in to complete a captivating catch.

South Africa could only blame themselves for letting the match drift till that point of travesty, especially after Klaasen had clobbered 24 off a single over from Axar Patel to almost seal India’s fate. But only Pandya could have complemented Arshdeep and Bumrah like that to take the match to the wire. It’s extraordinary because the belief in Pandya’s bowling is stronger than ever despite a long injury-induced layoff and a massive erosion of confidence after replacing Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain, only to come up with one of the most lackadaisical performances ever.

So Sharma going to Pandya for the last over was telling. That upholds a concerted belief that Pandya is a striker, a matchwinner. It is to him India go for cameos, anchor-like innings, breakthroughs, for controlling the run-rate, for applying pressure. He has done this before, often against the run of play. And he has done it again, unsurprisingly. “It’s very emotional,” said Pandya. “something was not clicking, but this was something the whole nation wanted. Special for me after six months, I haven’t spoken a word. Things have been unfair, but I knew there’d be a time I could shine. An opportunity like this makes it all the more special. We always believed, stayed calm, let the pressure come to them.”

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