Hardik Pandya Reaches Another Milestone; Becomes Only Third Indian to...

The India vs South Africa bilateral series has moved to its final leg, and now the teams are competing in the T20Is. After performing well in the ODIs, the Indian side again dominated the first IND vs SA T20I match. The first T20I in Cuttack began with India winning the match, and things didn't go as planned in the next T20I, where the team couldn't handle it well and lost the match by 51 runs.

In the IND vs SA 3rd T20I, Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to field first. While the Indian new ball bowlers started superbly, it was the all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who reached another milestone in his career.

Hardik Pandya 100 Wickets Record: India All-Rounder Reaches Another Milestone

During the 7th over of the third T20I against South Africa in Dharamshala, Hardik Pandya achieved the record of 100 wickets in T20I cricket. The star India all-rounder achieved this feat in his 123rd T20I match. It adds another feather to his glittering international career.

Pandya entered the IND vs SA 3rd T20I with 99 wickets in his hand. In this match, he not just bowled Tristan Stubbs but also ticked off another milestone, becoming the 3rd Indian player after Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah to have the most wickets for India in T20I cricket. Hardik Pandya T20I record shows his class in this format. Crossing the 100-wicket mark has highlighted his importance in the format. With this record, Pandya has become the first seam-bowling allrounder to achieve a double of 1000-plus runs and 100-plus wickets in Men's T20Is.

Three spin bowling all-rounders, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi, and Sikandar Raza, have achieved the feat previously. Hardik Pandya 100 wickets record unfolded when Stubbs attempted to play a shot away from his body and got a thick outside edge, giving Jitesh Sharma an easy catch behind the stumps and giving India their fourth wicket.

Along with his bowling, his batting records are also significant in India’s success in the format. These numbers explain why Hardik Pandya is considered one of the best all-rounders in the world. His arrival at the milestone adds more numbers to his growing list of records. He has featured in a total of 96 innings, where he has scored a total of 1939 runs and has a scoring rate of 141.53.

Team India on Top in 3rd T20I

India won the toss and opted to bowl first in the IND vs SA 3rd T20I at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. India made two changes to their playing XI, as they Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel, two of the best T20 bowlers, are not playing. Bumrah is out due to personal reasons while Axar was not well for the match.

South Africa also introduced three changes, bringing in Donovan Ferreira, Corbin Bosch, and Ottneil Baartman as per the pitch conditions. India started strongly and dismissed South Africa for just 117 in 20 overs. The Men in Blue are on their way for a big win and have been the superior team in this match.