IND vs AUS: Hardik Pandya's confident nod to Dinesh Karthik before hitting winning runs leaves netizens amazed

Hardik Pandya played a great supporting knock to an in-form Virat Kohli in the third T20I against Australia at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday, September 25. He added the finishing touches and helped the hosts get over the line by six wickets with a ball to spare.

Nonetheless, it was Hardik's uber-confident nod to his teammate and good friend Dinesh Karthik that stood out the most. It was the star all-rounder's calm and composed mindset that was one of the talking points from the game and in the end he finished the series in style.

Hardik Pandya's epic reaction after missing a Daniel Sams' delivery

After Virat Kohli was sent back on the second ball of the final over, having hit the first delivery for a six, Pandya was back on strike and was expected to play the finisher's role to perfection. However, Sams deceived him with a widish delivery off the next ball which was missed by the latter.

The equation read four runs from the final two balls and that is when Hardik's nerves of steel were shown. Dinesh Karthik was then seen staring at Hardik from the non-strikers' end and that is when the latter gave a confident nod stating that he would get the job done for the hosts.

Pandya delivered as promised as on the very next ball he smartly sliced a wide yorker from Sams that beat the slip fielders and raced away to the boundary for four as India successfully got over the line.

Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on 25 runs from 16 deliveries. His knock included two fours and a six at an outstanding strike rate of 156.3. 

While Hardik Pandya successfully played the finisher's role to perfection, it was Kohli (63) and Suryakumar Yadav (69) who had laid a solid foundation to India's victory with a superb 104-run third wicket stand after the hosts had lost both openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul early. 

Hardik Pandya just winked and told DK - " Have faith"

This level of confidence 🔥#HardikPandya #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/M4bk30Lwzl

— Shubhankar Mishra (@shubhankrmishra) September 25, 2022