Hardik Tamore’s journey with the Mumbai cricket team has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Despite being part of the setup for five years, the wicketkeeper-batter has struggled to cement a permanent spot, often finding himself in and out of the playing eleven. However, that narrative changed this past Friday completely at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. In a high-stakes Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Uttarakhand, Hardik Tamore finally grabbed the spotlight, smashing an unbeaten 93 off just 82 balls.
His performance was the backbone of Mumbai's convincing victory, earning him the Player of the Match award. But the confidence to play such an inning didn't come from practice alone; it was sparked by a special conversation with Indian legend Rohit Sharma.
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Tamore explained how the veteran player helped calm his nerves the day before the match.
“I was in Rohit bhai's room yesterday for a couple of hours. He advised me that I should back my natural game and suggested a few things which helped a lot,” Hardik Tamore said.
The situation was far from easy when he stepped onto the field. Mumbai had lost early wickets, and the team needed someone to steady the ship. Tamore kept his cool, focusing on rebuilding the innings before shifting gears to attack later in the game.
“When I walked out to bat, it was just 21-22 overs, so the target was to play our natural game till about the 40th over, and thereafter, as the surface eased out, we aimed for a 300-plus total, and I'm happy that we could reach that total,” he said.
In the end, he fell just seven runs short of a century. However, Hardik Tamore made it clear that personal milestones didn't matter. He was simply happy to execute the plan and secure a vital win for his side.
