IND vs AUS: Hardik Pandya Is Back On Another Planet After An Asia Cup Setback: Sanjay Manjrekar
Updated - 22 Sep 2022, 08:30 PM
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Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar claimed that all-rounder Hardik Pandya is back to his old self after concerns that he had lost form during the last Asia Cup.
Pandya’s quickfire 71 not out off 30 balls pushed India to 208/6 against Australia in the first T20I on September 20 at Mohali.
Despite Hardik Pandya’s outstanding performance with the bat, India was unable to hold Australia to a 209-run total. After losing his skipper Aaron Finch early on, Cameron Green (61 off 30) threatened to win the game for India. Umesh Yadav dismissed Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, giving India some hope.
To keep Australia in the game, Tim David and Matthew Wade went all the way. Wade’s three consecutive boundaries from Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling in the penultimate over, which reduced the number of runs required from the final over to two, proved to be the deciding factor.
Hardik Pandya’s lost his mojo a little bit: Sanjay Manjrekar
Pandya, who hit a match-winning 33* off 17 against Pakistan during the continental tournament, seems to have lost form in the subsequent encounters. The all-rounder, on the other hand, increased his effect in the first encounter against Australia.
“You know, we thought in the Asia Cup that maybe he would lose his mojo a little bit and whether he will soon come back in form, but that was kind of a hiccup in the kind of batting form that we have seen with Hardik Pandya,” Manjrekar said on SPORTS18’s show ‘SPORTS OVER THE TOP.’
“When we talk about the form it’s not about the 40s, 50s, or 60s. The kind of shorts and the impact he’s making with the bat and again we’re back to the Hardik Pandya who’s playing on a different planet currently.”
“Class batting against some quality bowling. I think that is very important to note as well. And because India batted first, it wasn’t as easy as it was in the second half of the match. So, hats off to Hardik,” Manjrekar added.
A 1-0 Australia will meet India in the second T20I on September 23 at Nagpur.
