Hardik Pandya loves a big stage and thrives under pressure.

While his performance with the ball during a challenging phase of the 2024 T20 World Cup final will always be cited as a prime example of his quality, on Tuesday, he sent another reminder of his talent and justified former India coach Sanjay Bangar’s claim that there’s no player in India currently who can match the allrounder’s capabilities.

Walking in to bat for India after a near two-month injury layoff, Pandya delivered in style, dazzling when his team was under the pump and peeling off a blistering half-century to propel them to a match-winning total against South Africa in the first T20I. The capacity crowd at Barabati Stadium was thoroughly entertained as India produced a clinical show with Pandya’s unbeaten 28-ball 59 and

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