Jimmy Neesham shares golden tweet for Hardik Pandya after India all-rounder’s heroics in 1st T20I vs England

Pandya will be among the players to watch when India and England square off for the second T20I on Saturday.

Hardik Pandya continued his impressive run as he blasted maiden Twenty20 international half-century and took four wickets as India beat England by 50 runs in Southampton. The flamboyant Baroda all-rounder was his attacking self, scoring 50 off 30 deliveries and hitting six fours and one towering six. His fireworks came after Suryakumar Yadav (39) and Deepak Hooda (33) had set the tone. But there was more to it. Pandya decimated England with the ball to return 4-33 from his four overs. England folded for just 148 in response to India's intimidating 198. (Watch: Rohit Sharma's straightforward reply to ex-England captain's query about 'lots of changes' to India captaincy)

Hardik Pandya and James Neesham (R) (Reuters | Twitter)

Pandya belongs to rare breed of players who can contribute equally in both departments. Pandya first bowled Dawid Malan and then dismissed Liam Livingstone to leave the hosts tottering on 29-3. He went on to remove Jason Roy and Sam Curran to become the first Indian to hit a fifty and pluck four wickets in a Twenty20 International.

Pandya's all-round brilliance earned plaudits from skipper Rohit Sharma, who underlined the cricketer's turnaround since the recent IPL edition. He led newbies Gujarat Titans to maiden title in debut season. "Hardik prepared himself wonderfully from the IPL. His bowling is something he wanted to do more of. He came in, bowled quick, and got rewards for his variation," said Rohit in the post-match presentation.

New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham – known for his quirky sense of humour – also reserved high praise on Pandya and shared a special tweet for the 28-year-old Indian. When he’s at 100% Hardik really is a pretty amazing cricketer," wrote Neesham.

Pandya remains crucial to India's World T20 plans. He is being tipped as a future India leader after leading unfancied Gujarat Titans to success and captaining the national team in the Ireland Twenty20s.

But Pandya's focus at the moment remains on his own game. "Obviously, right now I am not thinking much about what I'll be playing in the future and all that. Right now, I am focusing on as many games, I am available for India, that will be my intention. And talking about today's performance, obviously, it is always good to perform when your team requires and when your team wins," said Hardik in a post-match press conference.

"For me, it was simple, what my team required and doing what I know. I believe the hard work pays off, my point is to prepare well, but the result is not in my control. Right now, all is coming off, today is a good day, and tomorrow might be bad. So, you don't know, it is all about working hard, life goes on," he added.

Pandya will be among the players to watch when India and England square off for the second T20I on Saturday at Birmingham.