'Pandya can't be a Mahi' - Fans remember former India captain MS Dhoni as 'selfish' Hardik Pandya denies Tilak Varma half-century in IND vs WI 3rd T20I

Hardik Pandya hit a six to seal India's seven-wicket victory over West Indies in the third T20I, but he must be regretting now for doing so. India looked unlikely to lose at that stage with two overs to spare, but the Indian skipper opted to go for a maximum, denying youngster Tilak Varma a well-deserved half-century, leaving him stranded on 49*.

It was a crucial game for the Men in Blue to stay alive in the five-match series after losing the first two games. Batting first in Guyana on Tuesday (August 8), West Indies posted the highest score (159) of the series so far, on the back of Brandon King's 42-ball 42 and Rowman Powell's blazing 19-ball 40. India had a dismal start to their chase, losing both openers cheaply inside the powerplay.

However, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma steadied the ship by scoring at a rapid pace. The Mumbai Indians duo stitched an 80-plus partnership with SKY playing aggressively. The right-handed batter has not been in great form in recent times but found his rhythm in the last game and made a mockery of the Windies bowling by smashing them around the park.

While SKY went all guns blazing (83 off 44 balls), Varma, who made his international debut during the series opener, provided solid support for his partner at the other end. The southpaw continued his excellent form and batted through the innings with the captain. Verma had a chance to smash his second T20I century, but Pandya ended the game in the last ball of the 18th over, restricting his partner from reaching the milestone by just 1 run.

Pandya was slammed by fans on social media who labeled the all-rounder as 'selfish'. Meanwhile, some of them compared the incident to the former Indian captain's touching gesture to Virat Kohli during the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final between India and South Africa. Dhoni was on strike when India needed one run off seven balls. The legendary cricketer defended the ball and allowed Kohli, who played a match-winning knock (67 off 42 balls), to finish the game.

Here's how fans reacted to Hardik Pandya denying Tilak Varma a well-deserved half-century in IND vs WI 3rd T20I:

As It was an easy win game, He should have given a chance for Samson. I don't understand what Hardik was about to prove by promoting himself above Samson🤦

— Rohan N J (@RohanNJ2) August 9, 2023

Pandya can't be a mahi pic.twitter.com/FYMp9MdlGu

— RAJPUT BOY 💫 (@msdian_kuldeep) August 8, 2023

This is the difference between a leader and a captain. #HardikPandya could hv easily played it but no he wants to show off with a six #selfish

— Vicky (@GujarVikrant) August 8, 2023

Pandya cant be a leader like dhoni, virat and rohit.. he is a selfish.. there was no net run rate here still did not gave tilak strike

— sumit rathod (@rathod_sumit) August 8, 2023

2 runs needed in 14 balls. Very young batsmen on 49 at non-strikers end. Our unique captain playing 1s all along goes for a six.. #pandya

— Sarath kumar (@sarathkumar64) August 8, 2023

That's why hardik is chapri and dhoni,Rohit,virat are legends

— Shivang Chahar (@ShivangChahar) August 9, 2023

Captain Cool (Dhoni) vs Captain Fool (Pandya)

— YB (@barmare_yusuf) August 8, 2023

2 mins silence for Hardik Pandya who thinks he's replicating MS capitaincy 🤡

— Crichat (@Crichatt) August 8, 2023

It's okay to be chhapri like Hardik pic.twitter.com/DvEk1ZlQQ9

— Bruce Wayne (@GothamSaviourMe) August 8, 2023