India's vice-captain for the T20 World Cup 2024 Hardik Pandya received a grand welcome back in his hometown Vadodara on Monday after he became a T20 World Champion. Pandya helped India end their 17-year-long wait of lifting a T20 World crown as he delivered some crucial performances both with the bat and with the ball in India's historical campaign in the USA and West Indies.
Hardik, like the other Indian team members, received a rousing welcome when they reached India with a special show in Mumbai. He has now travelled back to his hometown Vadodara for the first time after the completion of the World Cup and has got a similar response to that of the Mumbai victory parade.
In a video shared by Hardik on his social media, thousands of fans as far as the eye can catch, are seen on the streets of Vadodara to welcome their star cricketer back home. The cricketer was waving his fans in an open bus, wearing the Indian jersey and a beaming smile on his face.
The bus travelled having the banner "Hardik Pandya - Pride of Vadodara", and commenced its journey from Mandvi, through to Lehripura Darwaja, Nyay Mandir, Fire Brigade Char Rasta, Dandiya Bajar Char Rasta, Maharani Nursing Home Char Rasta and end at Akrota Bridge Solar Panel. The Vadodara Police advised the commuters to use alternate routes to avoid traffic congestion during the bus march.
Watch the Video here:
Hardik was one of the crucial cogs in India's march towards the prestigious World crown. He scored 144 runs in six innings during the tournament at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151.57. He helped the Men in Blue finish strong on several occasions in the death overs of a match. His highest score of the tournament was 50* against Bangladesh in a Super Eight game.
With the ball, Hardik was more than handy, picking 11 wickets in eight matches at an average of 17.36 and an economy of 7.64. He was bestowed with the responsibility of bowling the all-important final over of the second innings when he needed to defend 16 for India to win the World Cup.
Hardik got the wicket of the last recognised batter in David Miller with Suryakumar Yadav seemingly catching the World Cup and not only the ball at long-off in a stunning way. The Indian vice-captain then got another wicket in the form of Kagiso Rabada as India almost reached home. The all-rounder finished things conceding a single on the last ball as India celebrated a seven-run win to cap off a dominant tournament, where they became the only team to win a T20 World Cup undefeated.
