WI vs IND: Hardik Pandya gets emotional during national anthem in opening T20I

India and West Indies are locking horns in the first T20I of the three-match series on Thursday, August 03 at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad. West Indies captain Rovman Powell has won the toss and elected to bat first. Ahead of the game, captain Hardik Pandya was spotted getting emotional during the national anthem. The all-rounder was seen getting teary-eyed and wiping them off.

Notably, Pandya has expressed his emotions on camera before as well. He got emotional during a post-match interview after India’s thrilling win against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. The all-rounder made valuable contributions with both bat and ball during the game picking 3/30 (4 overs) and scoring 40 (37) with the bat.

The 29-year-old captained also India in the last two matches of the recent ODI series against West Indies. He also played a breathtaking innings of 70* (52) in the last ODI smashing four fours and five sixes in his innings. Coming into the game, Pandya was under some pressure as he had a below-par show in the IPL 2023 and could only register scores of 5 and 7 in the first two ODIs. 

The Gujarat-born cricketer has been given leadership duties for T20Is ever since India’s exit from the T20 World Cup 2022. Since then, Pandya has led India in 12 T20Is with eight victories and two losses to his name. He was further named the vice-captain of the ODI team in January earlier this year.

Pandya’s leadership skills were known to the world when he led Gujarat Titans to an IPL title in their debut season in 2022. Since then he’s been touted as India’s next white-ball captain after Rohit Sharma. 

West Indies post 149/6 in first T20I

Meanwhile, in the first T20I, West Indies posted 149/6 in their allotted 20 overs after opting to bat first. Captain Rovman Powell was the top scorer for his team with his knock of 48 (32) smashing three fours and three sixes in his innings. Yuzvendra Chahal (2/24, 3 overs) and Arshdeep Singh (2/31, 4 overs) were the pick of the bowlers for India.