IND vs AUS: Hardik Pandya Or Glenn Maxwell? - Ricky Ponting Gives His Verdict On The Big Debate

In the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya scored an unbeaten 71 runs off just 30 balls to take the Rohit Sharma-led team to a big total of 208/6 against Australia. The all-rounder ended India’s innings with a hat-trick of sixes in the 1st T20I of the three-match series in Mohali.

Hardik Pandya led Team India to a challenging score with a blistering half-century. While India’s star all-rounder Pandya was praised for his batting, his Australian counterpart Glenn Maxwell struggled in the same game on Tuesday. Maxwell and Pandya are two of the most explosive all-rounders in white-ball cricket.

The T20 World Cup 2022 will start in Australia from next month and the pitches will be useful for fast bowlers. Hardik Pandya India’s star all-rounder with his explosive batting and wicket-taking ability gives the team a lot of advantage. Like Hardik, Glenn Maxwell also plays a similar role in the Australian team. Legendary Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting selected a better player when asked to choose between Glenn Maxwell and Hardik Pandya, the two biggest all-rounders in T20I cricket.

Hardik Pandya Have Probably Been The Best Of His Career – Ricky Ponting

Speaking to Sanjana Ganesan in The ICC Review, legendary Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting could not have picked a better all-rounder between Hardik and Maxwell. Ricky Ponting feels that Hardik can be more impressive with the ball and Glenn Maxwell can benefit the team more with the bat.

“Hardik’s last few months, in particular, have probably been the best of his career. Looking at the way they stack up, I think Hardik will probably have more of a chance to have an impact with the ball and also more of a chance to have an impact with the bat,” Ponting said.

The former Australian skipper believes Maxwell will outscore Pandya in the T20 World Cup. However, Ponting predicted that Pandya will take more wickets than Maxwell.

“Maxwell’s been batting quite low in T20 cricket. But that being said, in Australia, I think Maxwell will end up scoring more runs than Hardik. And I think Hardik will take more wickets than Maxwell. So, I’m going to call that one a draw,” Ponting added.

Also read: IND vs AUS: This Problem Isn’t New, It’s Existed For Few Years – Sunil Gavaskar Identifies India’s Weakness Ahead Of 2nd T20I Against Australia