'Aap batao, mujhe nahi pata' - Hardik Pandya shields Harshal Patel during post-match presser on poor performance in the first T20I

Indian bowling attack is on the receiving end of criticism from the experts and the cricket fans as well. They failed to defend a big total of 208 runs in 20 overs in the first of the three-match T20I series against Australia. Aussie skipper Aaron finch won the toss and decided to bowl first at the turf of PCA stadium.

Advertisment

Harshal Patel, who was making a comeback after recovering from an injury, disappointed everyone with his outing in the curtain raiser of the series. He conceded 49 runs in his quota of four over. He leaked only six runs in the 16^th over of the Australian innings. But later on, he conceded 22 runs in the crucial 18^th over.

Amidst the criticism from all sides, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya went on to defend Harshal Patel during the post-match press conference. He answered a question on the instance where India lost the match with a clear-cut and simple reply.

There are still two matches in the series - Hardik Pandya

Advertisment

“I don’t know,” started Pandya while replying to the question of the journalist. In the sequence, the journalist pointed out the failure of Harshal in the 18^th over. Hardik Pandya replied to it:

"Aap batao, mujhe nahi pata, humko pata hota toh wahi nahi rok dete. (You tell me, I don't know. If we knew, we would have stopped them in the field)," Hardik replied to the journalist.

Later on, the 28-year-old said that India has two more matches in the ongoing bilateral clash and he also shielded the poor outing of Harshal Patel.

Advertisment

“Dekho sir, pinpoint nahi kar sakte. Unke time pe bhi ek over mein 24-25 run aye, usse kuch farak nahi padta. Bilateral series hai, aur do matches hai usmein koshish karenge kuch accha karne ki. (See, we can't pinpoint any over, they also conceded more than 20 runs in an over. There are still two matches in the series, so we will make a comeback),” he added later.