WATCH | Hardik Pandya's EPIC 'bye-bye' moment: Babar Azam sent packing in thrilling IND vs PAK clash

Amidst the adrenaline-filled India Vs Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy match underway at Dubai, India's best all-rounder Hardik Pandya gave the team their first breakthrough as he forced Babar Azam to edge the second delivery of ninth over and get caught by KL Rahul.

Following Mohammed Shami's ankle region pain popped in, Hardik was brought into the attack and in the second delivery itself, he dismissed Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam for just 23 runs.

Here's the video:

Until the last report, Pakistan have scored 137/2 in 31 overs after winning the toss, with Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan are on crease.

Hardik Pandya's EPIC bye-bye ‘out of line’?

It wasn't just Hardik Pandya's breakthrough that caught the attention of cricket fans. The ace cricketer's bold ‘bye-bye’ wave directed at Babar Azam, has sent netizens into a frenzy.

While many fans viewed Pandya's ‘bye-bye’ wave as a sign of competitive sportsmanship, others felt the gesture crossed the line.

Hardik Pandya's gesture has further sparked a meme fest on X.

Some netizens even posted memes, asking Babar Azam to never retire.

The ‘craze’ about Hardik Pandya's bye-bye does not stop right there. Fans even came up with iconic scenes from popular movies, and curated those into memes.

India vs Pakistan head-to-head:

Pakistan enjoy a 73-57 head-to-head record against India in ODIs out of 135 matches. Five matches ended in no result. In Champions Trophy, Pakistan enjoy 3-2 lead over India.

“Looking at how each team has performed leading up to the Champions Trophy, including their recent matches and ODI rankings, can give us a clue. India has been quite dominant in recent ODIs,” predicted Gemini, when asked about whether India would win the match today.

India vs Pakistan playing XIs:

INDIA: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

PAKISTAN: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed