"Absolute clutch player!!"- Fans hail Hardik Pandya for a fantastic cameo in India vs England semifinal

Hardik Pandya's brilliant knock of 63 (in 33 balls) helped Team India get to a competitive total of 168/6 in their T20 World Cup encounter against England at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

The all-rounder's onslaught towards the end meant that the Men in Blue scored as many as 68 runs in their last five overs and have given their bowlers a fighting chance in the crucial semifinal.

Fans on Twitter were initially a bit disappointed by Hardik's slow start and felt that Rishabh Pant should probably have been sent ahead. However, the 29-year-old proved all his critics wrong and they hailed him for turning up when it mattered the most.

Here are some of the reactions:

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Hardik Pandya couldn't get going straight away

Hardik Pandya walked out to bat in a pretty tricky stage for India as they lost an in-form Suryakumar Yadav for just 14. Virat Kohli at the other end kept the scoreboard ticking, but Hardik struggled to find his timing from the get-go.

The all-rounder had scored just 13 runs from his first 15 balls and it seemed like it was a poor decision from the team management to not send Rishabh Pant ahead of him. However, he suddenly started finding the middle of the bat and began to change the momentum of the Indian innings.

Sam Curran and Chris Jordan, both being England's death overs specialists, couldn't stop Hardik from unleashing some of his trademark flicks over the leg side for boundaries and sixes.

Suddenly from struggling to reach the 150-run mark, Hardik Pandya took India to 168. The Men in Blue haven't started in the best possible fashion with the ball and will need a cluster of wickets to get back into the game.

England: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh