Watch: Hardik Pandya gives Kusal Perera a cold death stare after second wicket in an over

Hardik Pandya gave a cold stare to Kusal Perera after dismissing him on the sixth delivery of the 16th over. He has made a habit of such silent celebrations and churned out a fresh one in the second T20I.

Hardik bowled an off-pace back of a length delivery to Kusal, who cleared his front leg and went for a heave on the leg-side region. However, Rinku Singh, patrolling the area, bent forward and took a fine catch at the deep square leg region to cut Kusal’s innings short.

As Kusal was walking back, Pandya just had a confident stare at him but didn’t say anything. This stare depicted Hardik as ready for the challenge and was obviously happy to complete the task for the team.

Also Read: Watch: Ravi Bishnoi gets a wicket without appealing

Even in the T20 World Cup 2024, Hardik gave a similar, or maybe more animated, stare to Shadab Khan after dismissing him with a shorter-length delivery. This time, Hardik just stood there and saw Kusal amble back after taking the second wicket in the over to bring India back into the game.

.@hardikpandya7 strikes, sending Kamindu Mendis packing with an outstanding low catch by @rinkusingh235 🤩

Watch the action from #SLvIND LIVE now on Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 3, Sony Sports Ten 4 & Sony Sports Ten 5 🙌 🔥#SonySportsNetwork #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/JXkimtuWg7

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 28, 2024

India require 78 runs in an 8-over chase

Talking about the game, Sri Lanka posted a fighting 161/9 on the board while batting first. Their innings story was similar to the one in the previous game; they started well and looked well on track before a massive collapse in the death overs.

However, the rain came right after India started the chase, and the teams had to return back to the pavilion in a hurry. The rain persisted for long enough to make the game a shortened one; they required 78 runs to chase in eight overs due to the DLS method.

The chase didn’t have a great start, for India lost Sanju Samson on a golden duck. But the newly-appointed captain, Suryakumar Yadav, and Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a fine partnership to keep India on track.

They made the chase easy and looked well on track to hunt down the target with ease. A win in this game would ensure a series win for the Men in Blue with a T20 match to spare.

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