Hardik Pandya continues to prove why he's India's MVP, joins Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah in elite bowling list
IND vs SA, 3rd T20I: Hardik Pandya has now joined Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh in an elite T20I bowling list.
Hardik Pandya continues to prove why he's India's MVP in the white-ball formats. The all-rounder joined Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh in an elite bowling list for India as he became the third bowler from the country to take 100 T20I wickets. The 32-year-old achieved the feat in the third T20I against South Africa on Sunday at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
With the wicket of Tristan Stubbs, Hardik also became the first seamer to achieve a double of 1000-plus runs and 100-plus wickets in Men's T20Is. Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi, and Sikandar Raza, the three spin-bowling all-rounders, had previously achieved this feat.
Speaking of the Stubbs wicket, Hardik got the ball to jag around on the final delivery of the seventh over, and the right-handed batter had no answers. The pacer dished out a back-of-a-length delivery, and it shaped away from the batter, leading Stubbs to play a false shot.
Also Read: India vs South Africa Live Score, 3rd T20I: Check our coverage here
Stubbs only managed to get a thick outside edge, and the wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma had no trouble in completing a safe catch behind the wickets. It must be mentioned that Bumrah had surpassed the 100-wicket tally in T20Is during the first game of the five-match series against the Proteas in Cuttack.
Hardik made his return to Indian colours in the first T20I after spending three months on the sidelines due to an injury he sustained in the Asia Cup 2025 fixture against Sri Lanka. This led to him missing the final against Pakistan, as well as the ODIs and T20Is against Australia.
It must be stated that Arshdeep is India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is, while Bumrah has a total of 101 scalps to his name in the format.
Indian bowlers run riot
In the third T20I in Dharamsala, India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl first. The decision was proven right by new ball bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana as the duo removed the top-order inside the powerplay.
Harshit sent Quinton de Kock and Dewald Brevis packing while Arshdeep got the better of Reeza Hendricks. Such was the quality of Indian bowling that the Proteas managed just 25 runs inside the powerplay.
For the third T20I, India was without Bumrah and Axar Patel, as confirmed during the toss. While Axar was ill, Bumrah travelled back due to personal reasons, and it remains to be seen whether he joins the squad for the final two matches of the series.
