Hardik Pandya assures Virat Kohli he will take care of the final over

In the last over of nail-biting final T20 International against New Zealand, when the Black Caps required 19 off 6 to take the series, Hardik Pandya walked up to captain Virat Kohli and told him not worry. “Aap tension mat lo’. Team India eventually won the match by six runs and the series by a 2-1 margin.

In the final over it was young Hardik who was given the responsibility to bowl the final over and win India the match. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Virat Kohli explained that it was a planned move to give the seam bowling all-rounder the final over. He showed great courage and held his nerve under the crunch situations, and Pandya did his best to pull out a stunning victory.

In an eight over a side match, India batting first scored 67 and New Zealand in reply managed to score 61.

After winning the match the Indian captain revealed the bit of conversation he had with Pandya in the middle of his over. “Obviously, it was important to give him confidence. I tried to go to him after three balls (in the final over), but he said ‘mein daal donnga, aap tension mat lo (I will deliver, you don’t worry). As a captain, if you get that confidence from a bowler, then you don’t have to worry or tell him much,” Kohli said.

Indian cricket community congratulated the Indian team on their series victory against New Zealand.

Big congratulations @imVkohli Well done all my brothers for th T20 series #IndvNZ @BCCI Jassi jaisa koi Nahi @Jaspritbumrah93 class apart???

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) November 7, 2017

Congratulations team india ✌2-1 Well done boy's @ICC @BCCI

— Mohammad Shami (@MdShami11) November 7, 2017

Brilliant effort to win both ODI and T20 series, thought @BLACKCAPS were quite competitive throughout. Home for few days and then back to the business again #TeamIndia ?

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) November 8, 2017

Meanwhile, the Indians are all set to host Sri Lanka for a seven-week tour. They will play 3 Tests and as many ODIs and T20Is. The first Test of the series will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata starting on November 16. The Sri Lankan team has already arrived in India, eight days ahead of the start to ensure they play a couple of practice games. They are here this time attempting to create history as Sri Lanka has never defeated India in a Test in their own backyard.