India captain Hardik Pandya gifted a match ball to a fan after the visitors defeated West Indies in the third T20I at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Tuesday. This came after Hardik's shot accidentally hit the fan on her chin during a practice session. After the match, Hardik made sure that he greeted the fan, and also decided to give the young girl an autographed match ball. Hardik's gesture towards the young fan has now gone viral on social media.
Speaking of the match, India defeated West Indies by seven wickets to reduce the deficit to 1-2 in the ongoing five-match series.
After opting to bat first, West Indies rode on Brandon King (42) and Rovman Powell (40*)'s knocks to post a total of 159/5 in 20 overs.
For India, Kuldeep bagged three wickets while Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar scalped one wicket each.
Chasing a target of 160, India lost both openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, for cheap inside the first five overs.
However, Suryakumar Yadav's blistering 83 off 44 balls and Tilak Varma's unbeaten 49 saw India cross the finishing line with ease.
After the match, Hardik, who hit the winning six, said that his team will continue to play with seven batters.
"As a group we have decided to bat with seven batters and we have to take responsibility, like it happened today if the batters score runs then you don't need someone at number eight," Hardik said after the match.
India's long tail was questioned after the defeats in the first two T20Is.
The last two T20Is will be played in Lauderhill, California on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.