After scripting a thriller victory for India in the last over of the match against arch-rivals Pakistan in Asia Cup at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, all-rounder Hardik Pandya spoke in length about his unbeaten 33 runs off 17 balls and mentioned former India captain- MS Dhoni from whom he has learned to keep calm to make better decisions.
Hardik Pandya, who finished the match with an astonishing six on the fourth ball of the last over the match and took India to victory has emerged as a dependable all-rounder, and his above emergence has also given a lot of hope to Indian cricket fans. He returned to the field battling an acute back injury for almost 4 years, but his last 4-5 months have witnessed the best version of his all-rounder forms.
IPL 2022 was his starting comeback and since then, he didn’t stop at all. Series after Series, he is getting better and gaining the trust of the Indian team management. On Sunday, when India’s chase of 148 was on the edged, he was the one who took the team through. With six needed off the last four deliveries, he tried to get a boundary through covers but he found a fielder. The Pakistan fans erupted in joy but amid all the noise, he stood with a calm head and gave a confident nod to Dinesh Karthik, who was standing at the other end.
Next ball, he smashed the hugest six of his career, over long-on, to end the game with a victory note for India. Karthik bowed down to him and the all-rounder bagged the player of the match award for his heroics.
After finishing the match with a victory note for India, Pandya interacted with the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Sanjay Bangar on Star Sports. He spoke in length about his unbeaten 33 runs off 17 balls and mentioned former India captain- MS Dhoni from whom he has learned to keep calm to make better decisions.
I try to keep it is as simple as possible. That’s what I saw in Mahi Bhai. Whenever I played with him, I just observed and asked questions as well. Not only him but whosever I played with, I tried to learn as much as possible. Even in life, if you want to make a decision and if you are calm and are able to assess the situation better, then you can decide better, said Pandya.
Hardik Pandya
I try to implement the same thing in my batting, to analyse the available options and play accordingly. This game [against arch-rivals Pakistan] started for me from the 15th cover. I knew the death bowler in on debut, there would be a bit of up and down in his execution. So, even if there is a dot ball, it won’t be a problem because there’s a left-arm spinner and they were already lagging in the over-rate. So, all these points were in my mind, and I thought of taking it to the end and looking for the better options, he added.
Hardik Pandya
Asia Cup first group A match India vs Pakistan highlights:
All-rounder Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliance powered India to a buzzing five-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the first group A match of Asia Cup 2022. Pandya smashed 33 of 17 balls with the winning six in the last over bowled by left-arm-spinner Mohammad Nawaz, and Jadeja handled India’s inning while chasing the target in the second inning.
Jadeja contributed with 35 runs off 29 balls. Former Skipper Virat Kohli scored 35 off 34 balls. In the first inning, Pandya and senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped India to stop Pakistan on 147 in 19.5 overs. Bhuvneshwar had the best figures of 4 for 26, while Pandya picked 3/25 wickets in 4 overs.
Naseem Shah and Mohammad Nawaz were Pakistan’s successful bowlers as they performed 3/33 of 3.4 overs and 2/27 of 2 overs respectively. On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan was the best batter from the Pakistan side as he scored 43 off 42 balls.
After the hard-earned victory over Pakistan, India is now set to steamroll minnows Hong Kong in the final league match of group A on Wednesday, August 31.
In the match against easier opposition Hong Kong, there might be a few experimental changes in the Indian team as R. Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi could get a look in playing XI in the place of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja, While Dinesh Karthik who played in the match vs Pakistan is likely to be replaced with Rishabh Pant, another experienced wicketkeeper batter.
According to a recent report, games like Hong Kong will be a full experimental ground for India that would bring opportunity to all players of the announced squad, while key players would be rested for better preparation to face challenging rivals like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Read also:Asia Cup: Experimental India gets ready to steamroll Hong Kong
