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He’s got my back. I’m sure he’ll hear this,” Hardik Pandya challenges West Indies star

Hardik Pandya led the squad to victory in the third Twenty20 International against the West Indies after seeing his captaincy put in danger. The tourists had fallen to the hosts in the first two games. The most criticism has been leveled at India’s batting lineup, particularly because of its large tail. However, Hardik made it plain on Tuesday that his team will continue to play with seven hitters since he doesn’t want to make any compromises in the bowling department. In terms of Team India’s approach for the third T20I, Hardik was bang on, particularly in terms of how to handle a healthy Nicholas Pooran.

Very crucial (to winning). These three games will be exciting, we all agreed. The long-term plans remain unchanged if there are two victories or two losses. When it comes to such (must-win) games, we must demonstrate that we are prepared.

Nicky (Pooran) didn’t come out to bat, so we were able to reserve our pacemen and give Axar time to bowl his four overs. That was the plan; I like competitive situations like these. If Nicky wants to hit, let him hit me. The India captain made the remark at the post-match awards ceremony. “I know he’s going to hear this and will come hard at me in the fourth T20I,” he added.

After losing the first two games of the five-match series against West Indies, India’s extended tail came under scrutiny.

Seven batting alternatives are sufficient in the starting eleven, according to Hardik following India’s seven-wicket victory in the third T20.

“As a group, we have decided to bat with seven batters and we have to take responsibility, like it happened today if the batters score runs then you don’t need someone at number eight,” the captain added.

Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik’s replacement, too received high accolades for his game-winning 83 off 44 balls.

Hardik added, “It’s nice to have someone like SKY in the team and when he takes responsibility it sends a message to the others. As Surya indicated, they (SKY and Tilak Varma) play together and spend time together.

In his first series, Tilak Varma was unbeaten at 49 off 37 balls as India finished the 160-ball goal chase with 13 balls remaining.

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