Hardik Pandya missed a straight-forward chance to pick up Ben Stokes in the India vs England 3rd ODI. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was bowling the fifth over of the match when both the England openers were back in the hut. Ben Stokes and Dawid Malan were the two new batsmen present at the crease. Bhuvaneshwar bowled a back-of-a-length delivery to Ben Stokes who spooned the ball in the air in the direction of mid-off. Hardik Pandya was under the ball and had it covered, but somehow, the ball popped out of Hardik’s hands and the catch was dropped.
But Hardik Pandya’s agony didn’t last long as Ben Stokes got out in the 11th over while playing an expansive shot. The all-rounder was relieved as his dropped catch didn’t cost the team a lot of runs. Ben Stokes’ wicket was taken by T Natarajan and the catch was taken by Shikhar Dhawan in the deep mid-wicket region.
First take a look at Pandya’s sitter of a drop:
Now have a look at the reaction of Hardik Pandya when Shikhar Dhawan took the catch of Ben Stokes:
Hardik Pandya joined hands and bowed down in a gesture which symbolized that the all-rounder was apologizing for dropping an easy catch in the 5th over. Ben Stokes is an important wicket, and as the batsman looked in good form in the 2nd ODI, it was imperative to pick up his wicket early.
Indian players were shocked to see one of their best fielders dropping a sitter. Take a look at the reaction of Yuzvendra Chahal when Pandya dropped the catch:
Nonetheless, Dhawan’s catch must have calmed Pandya’s nerves for sure.