India vice-captain Hardik Pandya said he was confident of an opportunity to shine after a tough few months leading into the T20 World Cup, where he played a vital role in the team's title win. Pandya hit 144 runs and took 11 wickets in the showpiece, including a three for 20 in the final to guide India to a thrilling seven-run win over South Africa. MI's shocking decision did not go down well with the fans, who not only attacked Hardik on social media, but also booed and jeered at him at each of the venues amid the franchise's forgettable show in IPL 2024, where the finished 10th. Hardik was also criticised for his poor captaincy and his forgettable all-round performance, which sparked questions about his spot in the T20 World Cup squad and over BCCI's decision to name him the vice-captain.
But more than a month after MI's IPL exit, it was Hardik who had the last over for India. After a stellar all-round show in the World Cup, he was handed the final over, and he responded with a wicket, before restricting South Africa to seven runs short of India's target. Following the win, Hardik gave an emotional response to his critics during his interaction with Star Sports, where he opened up on the last six months and how he controlled himself from breaking down. “I just wanted those six months to return. I controlled myself a lot. I wanted to cry. But to all those people who were happy seeing me in pain during those difficult few months, I didn't want to give them more reasons to be happy. And I will never give them that moment. Look at the opportunity that I got today, probably by god's grace, I bowled the last over. I could not even imagine that. I'm speechless,” he said.
When asked about Rahul Dravid after the match, Hardik Pandya said that it was special to give him a memorable farewell and also expressed his appreciation for the support staff.
"Very happy for him (Dravid), he’s been a wonderful man, really enjoyed working with him, to give him a farewell like this is wonderful, have had a very good relationship with him and became friends. Very happy for all the support staff,” Hardik said. Rahul Dravid became the head coach of Team India when former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly appointed him in November 2021. Dravid had extensive coaching experience with junior teams, at the National Cricket Academy, and in the IPL. He has proven his critics wrong during his tenure as head coach of India. The Men in Blue reached the final match in ICC tournaments across all three formats in the past year under Dravid's tenure. The Indian team reached the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023. However, the team suffered heartbreaking losses to Australia on both occasions
