Despite the ferocious impact, the cameraman continued his duties, receiving ice treatment from medical personnel nearby. Even assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate, sitting in the dugout, took notice of the incident.
In a video shared by the BCCI, the cameraman reassured fans that he was okay, noting that things could have been worse if the ball had struck higher.
Hardik later expressed relief, saying, “God was with me because it did not hit him above that… He was a lucky man that he did not go higher. I would say sorry to him and check on him… Thankfully, he is fine.”
Beyond this heartwarming moment, Pandya had a record-breaking day. He became the fifth Indian batter to reach 2,000 T20I runs, joining Rohit Sharma (4231), Virat Kohli (4188), Suryakumar Yadav (2788), and KL Rahul (2265).
He also smashed the second-fastest fifty for India in T20Is, reaching the milestone in just 16 balls — four balls shy of Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball record against England in the 2007 T20 World Cup.
Pandya also set a new record for India, holding the most instances of scoring a half-century and taking at least one wicket in the same T20I match.