'This Is Just The Start': Hardik Pandya Sets Sight On More Trophies After India's T20 World Cup Triumph Over New Zealand

Hardik Pandya might not have had the brightest tournament with the bat, but he has managed to chip in with the ball whenever the team needed him. He has remained a pivotal part of India's white-ball setup and became one of the very few players to claim his second T20 World Cup medals.

Hardik Pandya Underlined His Future Goals

Fitness concerns proved to be a major hurdle for Pandya in his career, but his contribution to India's T20 World Cup defence will go down in the history books. Pandya picked up nine wickets in the tournament and amassed 217 runs at an average of 27.12 in nine games.

This happens to be his third ICC title, and the Indian all-rounder insisted this is just only a start as he also wants to add more accolades in his distinguished career.

While speaking to the broadcasters after the match, he said, “After the win in Barbados, I promised myself that whichever tournament I play, I will play to win and I will lift the trophy. This win against New Zealand in Ahmedabad is a validation that the promise I made to myself has become a reality. And this is just the start."

He further added, “When we won the T20 World Cup in 2024, I was facing a lot of difficulties personally. Many things had happened before that tournament and things were not going my way. Before the 2024 World Cup started, I had made up my mind that I was going for redemption. I wanted to make a dominating comeback. I did that and helped my team win the trophy after 17 years."

India Tamed New Zealand To Defend T20 World Cup Title

Coming to the match, NZ put India to bat first after winning the toss, Samson (89 in 46 balls, with five fours and eight sixes), Abhishek Sharma (52 in 21 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and Ishan Kishan (54 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) and Shivam Dube (26* in 8 balls, with three fours and two sixes) took India to 255/5.

Later on, despite a fifty from Tim Seifert (52 in 26 balls, with two fours and five sixes), the Kiwis had to bow down to the sheer greatness of Axar (3/27) and Bumrah (4/15) as Men in Blue secure their third T20WC title in style, becoming the first team to defend the title, and also the first host nation to win the trophy.

Also Read: How A Single Catch In 2024 T20 World Cup Final Transformed Suryakumar Yadav's Life? Indian Captain Spills The Beans After IND vs NZ Summit Clash

(With ANI Inputs)