IND vs PAK: Virender Sehwag Lauds Hardik Pandya For His Match-Winning Knock Under Pressure

Hardik Pandya, an all-around player for Team India, extended his unbeaten streak in 2022 against Pakistan by winning the match on August 28. For his actions with both the bat and the ball, the 28-year-old was named Player of the Match, enabling India to defeat their bitter opponents by six wickets.

Pandya had to navigate the rising needed rate and a strong Pakistani bowling lineup as he came into bat with little over five overs left in the run chase. The all-around player batted sensibly and completed the game with a few deliveries remaining.

India’s attempt to win the game and exact some sort of retribution for losing the T20 World Cup 2021 got off to a horrible start when Naseem Shah, a rookie bowler, dismissed KL Rahul. Before Mohammad Nawaz dismissed both of them, Virat Kohli (35) and Rohit Sharma (12) performed admirably for a while.

It all came down to Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to lead India to the victory in the final over after Suryakumar Yadav was also bowled out for 18 runs. With five wickets in hand, India won with 52 runs from Ravindra Jadeja (35) and Hardik Pandya (33* in 17 balls).

Hardik Pandya gave India the advantage in the match: Virender Sehwag

Opining that India would have had plenty of problems in the final overs had the pace bowling all-rounder not fired, Sehwag said on Cricbuzz:

“I would believe Pandya gave India the advantage in the match. The other end had Jadeja engaged in ball-to-ball play. There might have been issues for India in the end if Pandya’s scoring pace had been slower. The partnership between him and Jadeja was primarily Pandya’s doing. With bat and ball, he made an impact.”

Pandya used short-pitched deliveries to great success during his 3-25 bowling spell. He scored 33 runs off 17 balls while still unbeaten, including four fours and a six.

Also Read: IND vs PAK: Pakistan “Have All The Ability To Win” Asia Cup 2022: Moin Khan