Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli
Hardik Pandya has been in blistering form lately in Australia. Donning the India jersey for the first time this year, the all-rounder smashed two majestic knocks (90 and 92) in the ODI series and finished as India's highest run-getter. Continuing his purple patch with the bat, Pandya flaunted his worth in the second T20I at the SCG on Sunday.
Hardik steered India to the victory with two balls to spare by slamming two sixes in the last over off Daniel Sams. The Baroda all-rounder hammered 42 off 22 deliveries to bag the Man of the Match award, playing a vital role in India gaining an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.
Former India international Sanjay Manjrekar was sceptical over Hardik's presence in the squad as a 'pure batsman'. He had backed Manish Pandey for the finisher's role instead of Hardik. Manjrekar views, however, have changed after Hardik has been splendid with the bat on the Australian soil.
"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," Manjrekar had said about Hardik after India's 13-run victory in the third ODI.
Following Hardik's recent heroics in the shorter format, Manjrekar was sure about the all-rounder finding his mojo. “If Steve Smith found his hands in this series then Hardik Pandya found his bat,” Manjrekar said in the post-match show on Sony.
“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 added.
