Do you know who Hardik Pandya is? Playing for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he is a quite well-known Indian cricketer. Follow  bpexch app for more sports news. 

Additionally, he serves as the squad leader! Let's discuss today how Hardik bowled truly brilliantly and assisted his side with his deft cricket moves!

A Trying Period for Hardik

Hardik struggled this year at the start of IPL 2024. Mumbai Indians, his squad, came last of all the teams! Many people expressed harsh remarks about him online since they were not satisfied. 

With the bat, he only averaged 18 runs; when he bowled, the other team scored a lot—35.18 average and 10.75 runs per over. Oh great!
Still waiting, though! Something incredible occurred after IPL!

Major Comeback in T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy

Though IPL didn't go great, Hardik returned to the T20 World Cup stronger. He was so outstanding that his team took home the trophy! 🎉

And let me guess what? He continued to play fantastic cricket in the ICC Champions Trophy. We refer to that as a Comeback! 

Captain Hardik's Smart Bowling

Let us now discuss something quite amazing Hardik accomplished in a most recent IPL game. Although Mumbai Indians lost several early games this season, Hardik was outstanding with the ball. 

With a very good economy rate of 7.5 runs per over, he took 8 wickets—that is, eight batters out—in just three matches. He, therefore, prevented the batters from scoring very much.

One very noteworthy game was against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Hardik's best was 5 wickets for just 36 runs; he did something no captain had ever done before. That's really significant! 🎯

The Secret: Smart Tricks and Natural Length

The key to Hardik is his bowl technique. He enjoys bowling short balls, so the ball bounces before ever making contact with the hitter. 

He gets several wickets from about half of his IPL balls, which are short! Actually, out of his 72 wickets in the IPL, 38 were from short balls. 

That makes nearly half of them! 😲
Hardik bowled 15 short balls and grabbed 4 wickets in that LSG encounter. For Rishabh Pant, one unique ball was a slow ball known as a off-cutter. The ball came slowly, unlike the batter anticipated, then boom – wicket!

Applying Tricks Called "Variations"

Hardik modified the speed at which the ball came from, not only bowling short. We term this tactic a variation. The ball might startle the batter if it comes slowly or strangely. Allow me to say this:

Out of the slow spin balls, he bowled 6 off-cutters, 3 of them got wickets!
For: Using the same tactic, his colleagues Trent Boult and Ashwani Kumar cleared batters out in the last few overs.

View this interesting statistic 

That is incredible. Smart balls performed above regular balls!

Using the Ground

Their playing ground featured two distinct square bounds: one long (73 meters) and one short (66 meters). 

Hardik and his associates were quite intelligent! It was difficult to hit sixes since they made the hitters strike the ball towards the longer side.
For instance, Ayush Badoni struck one six to the short side.

• Next ball? Changing his strategy, the bowler got him out by having him strike to the long side!
  
  

2016's Go-To Move Flashback for Hardik

Do you realise Hardik has been sporting short balls since 2016? By bowling deft short balls in the penultimate over in a very close game in the T20 World Cup against Bangladesh, he helped India prevail. People first noticed his bowling magic at this point! 

Almost 50% of his balls are short in all T20 games with accessible statistics; almost 55% of his wickets come from short balls.
That's known as using your strengths! 

Mumbai Indians Still Have Hope!

MI just has one win in four games, but several positive things are happening:

• Four games have seen MI fast bowlers—quick bowlers—take 21 wickets.
  
  

• That’s more than any other team!
  
  

• Only the Delhi Capitals have somewhat improved their bowling stats.
  
  

• One could say: All this is going without their top bowler Jasprit Bumrah!
  
  

MI's bowling is, therefore, robust and getting better. More smart bowling like Hardik's will help them win more games soon! 😆

Hardik: What We Can Learn

Stick to your strong suit (Hardik's short balls), use clever moves when things get tough (slower balls), and 💪. Never quit; even with criticism; 🚀 Come back more robust and keep trying.

Hardik demonstrated to us that you do not always have to bowl quickly. You can still take many wickets and assist your team to win if you are clever and confident!

FAQs: Ask Me Anything!

Q: What kind of ball does Hardik enjoy most?
A: He enjoys bowling short-pitched balls, which bounce before getting to the bat.

Q: What is a variation in bowling?
A: In bowling, a variation is when a bowler modifies the speed or movement of the ball to surprise the hitter.

Q: Did Hardik take 5 wickets in one match?
A: Indeed! Against Lucknow Super Giants, he 5 wickets for 36 runs.

Q: Why are slower balls useful?
A: In cricket, slower balls help to surprise batters since they expect the ball to come quickly. They can escape if they miss the shot.

Q: Can Mumbai Indians still win more games?
A: Strong bowling and clever strategies will help them to win the next games.

Recommended Blog: T20 Experience: None – Nothing Troubling for MI's Vignesh Puthur, Who Stood Out in His IPL Debut!

Final Words!

Hardik Pandya is a smart captain as well as a fierce player. He demonstrated how a game might be changed with correct length and clever variations. 

He saw himself and performed like a real hero even when things were not going right. On or off the pitch, every one of us can benefit from that!