Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya kicked off his Asia Cup campaign on a terrific note after showcasing a sensational match-winning performance against Pakistan on Sunday. His brilliance on the field has been appreciated by many former cricketers and experts.
Former India skipper Kapil Dev has now praised Pandya for his fabulous performance. Kapil believes that the presence of all-rounders like Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja always help a team in finding the correct balance. Though, at the same time, Kapil pointed out that Pandya must take care of his fitness.
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“That is where the team gets an advantage (presence of all-rounders like Hardik Pandya). You have Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja who can bowl their overs and bat well. Any all-rounder is a cherry on the cake for the team. Hardik and Jadeja are great athletes. Hardik has made us so proud but only thing is that he has to look after himself," Kapil said during an interview with ANI.
India’s World Cup-winning skipper also opined that if Pandya gets injured then it will surely disarrange the whole structure of the squad.
Pandya not only contributed significantly with the bat against Pakistan but he also pulled off a spectacular show in the bowling department also.
Pakistan were bundled out for 147 in 19.5 overs. Pandya picked up three wickets conceding just 25 runs in four overs. He managed to dismiss Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah.
Pandya later played an unbeaten 17-ball 33 to help his side in securing a thrilling five-wicket victory. His innings comprised four boundaries and one six. In the penultimate over, Pandya had hit three boundaries and eventually he smashed a six in the final over to score the winning runs for the Men in Blue.
The 28-year-old all-rounder fully recovered this year after suffering a back injury back in 2018. He led Gujarat Titans to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title in their debut season. In the 15th season of IPL, Pandya scored 487 runs at an average of 44.27. His strike rate was also an impressive 131.27. He notched four half-centuries in IPL 2022. Pandya had even scalped eight wickets.
In T20Is, he has scored 314 runs at an average of 34.88 this year.
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