VIDEO | Hardik Pandya 'smiles' his way back to pavilion after waggish hit-wicket dismissal

Hardik Pandya plays his cricket to have fun and he doesn’t know any other way. Even if he doesn’t want to be funny, he ends up doing something that makes him a favourite meme of the Internet. His dismissal in the ongoing encounter against KKR is a feeder for the thousands sitting in front of their laptop to create Instagram content at his behest.

On the third delivery of the 19th over, Russell changed his angle for Hardik and went around the wicket to deliver a yorker wide outside off-stump. Hardik was batting deep inside the crease and knew that he could steer the ball to the third-man region if he could bring his bat down after rocking back from his position.

It was a solid tactic in place but for execution, a massive amount of self-awareness was needed. But Hardik was not sure of his stumps and so deep was he that his bat ultimately hit the off-stump to lighten it up. Russell had no idea what had just happened and he was standing calmly. But Pandya, by then, had just understood the mess-up he created for himself and in extension, his team.

He walked back to the dressing room with an embarrassing smile on his face but his absence didn’t matter much as the side romped to 195 in 20 overs, giving KKR a solid 196 to open their account in the tournament.

Watch the dismissal here: