'You don't need NRR' - Aakash Chopra after Hardik Pandya's winning six denies Tilak Varma half-century

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has said that Hardik Pandya should have allowed youngtser Tilak Varma to complete his half-century in the third T20I against West Indies in Guyana on August 8. The former cricketer said that there was no issue of Net Run Rate (NRR) and with plenty of balls remaining, Hardik should have allowed the youngster to get another fifty.

Notably, the third T20I was a must-win fixture for India, who were trailing 0-2 in the five-match series. On a used pitch, the West Indies batters could not accelerate the scoring rate until Rovman Powell's unbeaten 19-ball 40 helped them get to 159/5 in 20 overs. It was a decent total on a tricky surface and with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill departing early, the home side would have felt that they were on the brink of a rare series win.

However, a masterclass from Suryakumar Yadav and a sedate knock from Tilak helped India to get into a position of strength before Hardik put the finishing touches as the 'Men in Blue' won by seven wickets. The Indian captain hit a six off Rovman Powell to finish the match with 13 balls to spare. However, it irked some fans as they believed that the experienced all-rounder should have allowed Tilak, who was left stranded on 49 off 37 balls at the non-striker's end, to get to his second consecutive half-century.

“Tilak Varma, outstanding. First Indian to get 30+ scores in his first three international innings. He scored a fifty in his previous games and was close to another this time too, in fact, it should've been a fifty. His temperament is good, his range is good, he was aggressive at first and then was happy to play second-fiddle to Suryakumar,” Chopra said on his official YouTube channel.

“Hardik comes to bat, tells him it's important to remain not out, don't get carried away. Then Hardik hits aggressive hits... you don't need NRR, it would've made no difference. He told Tilak to go easy, but tried to hit big shots himself. You needed 2 runs off 13 balls, and he smashed a six. I'm sure they want to build a culture that doesn't care about individual milestones. But even a not out doesn't really matter here, even if you were out there, you still had 12 balls there to score 2 runs. Tilak was denied a chance to score a fifty. That's just my opinion, though.”

Tilak scored an unbeaten 49 in 37 balls with the help of four fours and a solitary six. He complimented Suryakumar Yadav's whirlwind knock of 83 in 44 balls to a nicety and helped India pick up a crucial victory.