Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players‘There was Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni earlier’: Gautam Gambhir says Hardik Pandya is ‘capable of chasing any total or any target’
Pandya hit an unbeaten knock of 42 runs off 22 balls as he guided India to a six-wicket win against Australia, handing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
One of the players who have enhanced their reputation during the recent tour of Australia is Hardik Pandya. The 26-year-old all-rounder has been a revelation in the middle-order this year as he scored consistently hit runs for India. On top of that, Hardik also took on the finisher’s role in India’s victory over Australia in the second T20 international.
Pandya hit an unbeaten knock of 42 runs off 22 balls as he guided India to a six-wicket win against Australia, handing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The knock has garnered praise from all quarters with former players lauding Pandya for his match-winning abilities.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was impressed with the performance of Pandya and said that the cricketer is capable of chasing any target.
“Hardik Pandya has played these kinds of innings in the Indian Premier League, and when you come into international cricket on the back of good innings in the IPL, then your confidence is very high. Pandya has played innings like these for Mumbai Indians. So, in that sense, he did not do anything new on Sunday (against Australia in 2nd T20I).
“There are very few players like Hardik Pandya, there was Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni earlier and there is Glenn Maxwell now, they are capable of chasing any total or any target. Even if you need 20-25 runs in the last over, these players make you believe that they can score it,” Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo.
Looking back at his innings, Pandya explained how he approached the chase, saying he’s learned from his mistakes in the past. Pandya has played such knocks many times for his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, highlighting his focus is to break the equation in a chase.
“I really like to see the scorecard and play. It lets you know the kind of shots and options you have. I have been in these situations many times and I learnt from my mistakes in the past. My game is always around the confidence which I carry, it has that fine line where I back myself and not become overconfident,” Pandya said after the match.
“I always remember all those times when we chased big totals and it helps. In T20s you actually have more time than you think. If we need 70-80 odd in 30 balls, I don’t look at the whole thing and I break it down to 12 balls and focus more on the process than the end result. They were batting really well and we wanted to be positive.”