Hardik Pandya gifts a special bat to Ireland?s Harry Tector after his sensational knock in 1st T20I

Hardik Pandya gifts Harry Tector a Bat: India and Ireland faced off against each other at the Malahide Cricket Club (The Village) in the first encounter of their 2-match T20I series and it was a low-scoring thriller in every way. The match was firstly shortened to just 12 over owing to the weather conditions but it still turned out to be a pretty entertaining match. Surprisingly, it was a 22-year-old Irish youngster who stole the show last night and he acquired praises from not only Indian fans but also their captain Hardik Pandya.?

Hardik Pandya is leading team India for the first time ever in the Ireland tour in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. It will be right to say that he has earned this spot after his sensational leadership for Gujarat Titans in the 2022 IPL. For the unversed, for the first time in IPL, Hardik Pandya was appointed as the captain of the maiden team Gujarat Titans this season and he led them to win the prestigious award in their very first season. 

The Indian all-rounder did a pretty good job as India?s captain last night as well and the Blues ended up winning the match pretty convincingly. 

He won the toss and opted to field first. Ireland were off to a terrible start as their top 3 batters - Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie and Gareth Delany all departed for single-digit runs. It was then that youngster Harry Tector came in and started running the show. Harry Tector single-handedly controlled the entire innings of Ireland and his unbeaten 64 off 33 took them to a respectable score of 108/4 in 12 overs.?

Hardik Pandya praises Harry Tector and Gifts him a Bat

Although India had no difficulty in chasing the total, there is no doubt in the fact that Harry Tector just put up a performance of a lifetime. Hardik Pandya was highly impressed by his performance in the match and he thus gifted him a special but of his own. He hoped that Tector could put the bat to good use so that he could impress some serious suitors from the Indian Premier League. 

?He (Harry Tector) played some fantastic shots, and obviously, he?s 22, I?ve given him a bat as well, so maybe he can score some more sixes and maybe get an IPL contract, and I wish him luck. Just look after him well, give him the right guidance. It?s not always about cricket; it?s about understanding your whole lifestyle and what is at stake. If you can manage that, I?m sure he?s going to be around ? not just in IPL, in all the leagues in the world,? Hardik Pandya said after the match.?

This is not the first time that Hardik Pandya has gifted his bat to a player of opposition though. He gave away a bat to Sri Lanka?s Chamika Karunaratne too recently during the India-Sri Lanka series. Chamika Karunaratne is a Sri Lankan all-rounder who claims to have been inspired by Hardik Pandya.?

Also Read:- England Captain Eoin Morgan set to retire from International cricket over lack of form