India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has finally revealed what he whispered to the cricket ball before he took the wicket of Imam-ul-Haq during the ICC World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan on Saturday.
A video of Pandya whispering to the ball went viral on social media after he immediately took a wicket after the act.
Pandya delivered a massive blow on Pakistan when he got Imam to edge a full delivery outside off-stump in the 13th over to reduce the opposition to 73 for 2.
It was Pandya's first wicket in the match and it came after he went for a few runs in his initial overs of the spell. He then spoke to the ball and the magic worked as he struck on the very next delivery.
What Pandya told the ball
Pandya was asked about it by the broadcasters after the match to which he said, "I basically hurled abuses at myself to bowl better length."
He went on to pick the wicket of Mohammad Nawaz in the final stages of the innings as Pakistan got bowled out for 191 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India then rode on half-centuries from captain Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer to gun down the target in 30.3 overs. Rohit top-scored with 86 while Iyer remained unbeaten on 53 as India made it 8-0 against Pakistan in ODI World Cups.
India top points table & ODI rankings
The Men in Blue also jumped to the top of the points table in this World Cup and consolidated their position on top of the ICC ODI Rankings as well with this performance against their arch-rivals.
The team then left for Pune on Sunday where they will take on Bangladesh in their fourth match of the tournament on October 19. Pakistan meanwhile, will face Australia in Bengaluru on October 20.
