Sydney: In the second T20I against Australia on Sunday (December 6) Hardik Pandya once again showed the world just how efficient a finisher he can be and proved why he is such a big asset for Indian cricket.
Pandya impressed everyone with his batting skills. The all-rounder slammed an unbeaten 42 off 22 balls to guide India to a six-wicket win chasing a mammoth 195. The Men in Blue claimed an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.
Before the first ODI, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar was sceptical of Pandya’s selection as a no.6 batsman. But Pandya has changed his views and Manjrekar praised the right-hander for taking India to victory.
“I was sceptical when they picked him on IPL performance. I thought he was a good T20 batsman but 50 overs is a slightly different game. Can Hardik Pandya be a pure 50 overs batsman and he proved to all of us that he can, if Steve Smith found his hands in this series then Hardik Pandya found his bat,” Manjrekar said.
“The bowlers are also under pressure knowing that every time they get it wrong, he is not going to miss. Just an incredible belief in your own abilities to get it done even towards the latter stages of the innings That’s why everyone rates Hardik Pandya as well as they do,” the former India batsman added.
“When you break it down into little specifics. Last over, there was this situation where Hardik Pandya had five balls to face and had to hit two sixes. Now when you look at Hardik Pandya’s ability and his form, it’s not a big deal. Five balls, two sixes. That’s when you started believing he could do it,” Manjrekar signed off.
