Indian captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Hardik Pandya after the all-rounder played a crucial role with both and ball in the team’s opening game of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday as the Men in Blue won by five wickets.
Pandya first returned with impressive figures of 3-25 as he bowled accurately. There was extra bounce in the surface, and Pandya could make the most of it as he tested Pakistan batters with short stuff. Pandya accounted for Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Khushdil Shah and dismissed them with well-directed bouncers.
Subsequently, India found themselves in a spot of bother at 89-4 after 14.2 overs. However, Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja added 52 runs for the fifth wicket to get the team close to 148 runs.
Jadeja scored 35 runs while Pandya added the finishing touches as he scored 33 runs off just 17 balls. Thus, he came with an all-round performance to help his team win their first match of the tournament by five wickets.
Rohit added that Hardik Pandya understands his game better now, which is helping him reap rewards for his hard work.
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “Since the time he (Hardik) has made his comeback, he’s been brilliant. When he was not part of the team, he figured out what he needs to do to his body and his fitness regime, and now he is clocking 140+ easily. His batting quality we all know and it’s been brilliant since his comeback. He is a lot calmer now and more confident about what he wants to do, whether it’s with the bat or with the ball. He can bowl really quick, we saw that today with those short balls. It was always about just understanding his game and he’s doing that well now. In a high-pressure chase with 10 rpo needed, you can panic but he never showed any of that.”
On the other hand, India was the happy side at the halfway stage as they had skittled out Pakistan for only 147 runs. However, the Indian batters had to sweat hard as the Pakistan pace bowlers were right on the money.
Rohit added, “Halfway through the chase, we still knew that we can win irrespective of the situation. We had the belief and when you have that belief, these things can happen. It’s about giving clarity to the guys so that they know their roles well. It was a bit challenging but I’ll take wins like this any day over usual victories. Yes, they (India’s pace bowling) have come a long way in the last year or so and they have adapted well to different situations.”
India will look to continue their winning momentum in the upcoming matches. The Rohit Sharma-led team will next face Hong Kong at the same venue on Wednesday.
