IND vs WI: Not Rohit Sharma! Hardik Pandya Credits Virat Kohli For His Improved Batting Show

The Stand-in captain Hardik Pandya led from the front in the decider against West Indies on Tuesday, August 1. He scored an unbeaten 70 off 52 balls to propel India to 351/5 against West Indies, their best-ever ODI score against the Windies in the Caribbean.

Hardik ensured that India built on the good work done by Ishan Kishan (77), Shubman Gill (85), and Sanju Samson (51). Pandya first added a 65-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav (35) and then added another 42-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja (8* off 7) to take India past 350.

India were at risk of losing an ODI series against West Indies for the first time in 17 years but the young players delivered an impactful performance. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli rested for the last two ODIs, this batting performance holds all the more importance.

Also Read: IND vs WI: Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill Achieve Historic Partnership Feat In West Indies

Virat And Rohit Are Integral Part Of The Team: Hardik Pandya

At the post-match presentation, skipper Hardik Pandya spoke about India’s experiments with the batting order implying that Virat and Rohit will always be key players in the team.

“Virat and Rohit are a very integral part of the team. And, you know, obviously, this was very important for someone like Rutu to get a game or Axar to get a game because they’ve been playing cricket for so many years, they know how exactly all these situations have been. So kind of giving them the youngsters exposure and kind of making sure that if we want to check something, we have the opportunity to do it,” Pandya said after the game.

Also Read: IND vs WI: Time For West Indies To Take Note – Hardik Pandya Slams CWI For Poor Arrangement

The all-rounder scored an unbeaten 70 hitting four fours and five sixes in his innings from just 52 balls. There was some clean power-hitting on display with Hardik’s bat giving adequate timing. The stand-in captain said that the credit should go to Virat Kohli for the improvement.

“I had a very wonderful chat with Virat a couple of days back, and the kind of input he gave me, he has seen me throughout the years. It’s been almost seven or eight years of international cricket and he has seen me from day one. He had some pointers which really helped me.

“He just wanted me to spend some time on the crease and get used to the 50 or game as well because we have played so many T20 formats and yeah, that kind of stayed in my mind and I was just waiting for the opportunity. I’m really thankful to him as well to kind of share that experience with me,” Hardik said about Virat Kohli and his batting.

India won the first ODI by five wickets lost the second and won the decider by 200 runs as the West Indies were bowled out for just 151 in 35.3 overs. Shardul Thakur took four wickets, Mukesh Kumar three, and Kuldeep Yadav two wickets. Ishan Kishan won the Player of the Series for his three consecutive fifties.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2023: PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf Opens Up On Controversy Surrounding Tournament’s Schedule Announcement