Hardik — the three-in-one cricketer who delivers more often than not

It’s a little before 8 p.m. on a nippy Tuesday night, a deafening sound of silence enveloped Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium. Having done the hard yards, Tilak Varma has just been dismissed to an excellent catch at fine-leg by Marco Jansen. It’s the strapping left-arm quick’s third catch of the evening, Lungi Ngidi’s third wicket of the contest.

At 78 for four midway through the 12th over, India’s innings is going nowhere. The run rate is in the 6s, courtesy South Africa’s discipline and a tacky surface where stroke-making is fraught with danger. India’s top-four has all fallen attempting big shots, its efforts negated by both bounce and the ball sitting in the pitch. There is a sense of apprehension, if not anxiety, among the 45,000 predominantly pro-India audience in the first of five Twenty