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Cricket Players'For me, it's like you are playing with 12 players': Ex-India star's staggering claim after win over England in 1st T20I
India produced a dominant performance in the 1st T20I against England, defeating the side by 50 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Hardik Pandya was the star of the show as India thumped England by 50 runs to win the first match of their T20 series, held at Southampton. The all-rounder showed how much value he can add to the team if he is fit and in form, coming in at number 5 and scoring a half-century, before returning to bowl four overs and take 4 wickets, rightfully earning him the man of the match award.
Pandya’s 51(33) put India in the vicinity of 200, and although the run rate slowed down after his dismissal, it was enough to guarantee a big target for England. Pandya was then asked by captain Rohit Sharma to bowl in the powerplay, and immediately it was a decision that paid dividends, as he took the wickets of Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, and Sam Curran, four important batters.
Former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel was full of praise for Pandya, claiming that he was one player who contains the value of two when he can perform as he did in Southampton. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Patel said “If you have a player who bats at top-five and also bowls as the third seamer, to me it is like you are playing with 12 players. You have a full batter and a full bowler.”
Pandya surprised one and all during the IPL when he promoted himself to bat at number 4 for the eventual champions GT, but it was a ploy which worked, showing Hardik’s ability as a frontline batter. His bowling also improved after a few years of it being hampered by injury — on Thursday, Pandya bowled a delivery clocked in at 146 kmph, the fastest he has bowled in his career.
Former Indian pace bowler RP Singh talked about how his skills as a fast bowler are coming along. For Cricbuzz, he said: “There was a lot of talk if he will bowl or not. And not only will you have to bowl, but you will also have to make an impact—pick a wicket, or stop the run flow. He (Hardik Pandya) ticked a lot of boxes, the seam position was good, the bounce was also good, and he bowled with a plan.” In his very first over, Pandya picked the important wickets of Malan and Livingstone, putting India well in front in the game, and into a position from where a win was all but guaranteed.
This performance prompted RP Singh to call Hardik a frontline bowler for the national team: “You can also look at him as the third seamer. Don’t look at him only as an all-rounder. That’s why he is bending his back well, and running a lot. If you are an all-rounder and also bowling in the powerplay, this must be music to India’s ears.”
A player with this range of abilities is someone Indian cricket has been crying out for ever since Kapil Dev retired, and with two big World Cups on the horizon in the next two years, India will be hoping Pandya’s body holds up, and he can produce results his talent and dedication has shown he is capable of. He and team India will be back in Birmingham to play the second T20I against England on Saturday.
