IND vs ENG: Former India Pacer Zaheer Khan Impressed By Hardik Pandya's Half-Century In 3rd ODI

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan praised Hardik Pandya’s batting performances against England.

Hardik Pandya became the fourth Indian cricketer to pick up four wickets and score a half-century in the same match, with his career-best figures of 4/24 and innings of 71 in the third ODI vs England.

Following a decisive 10-wicket victory against the Three Lions to open the three-match ODI series against England, India struggled in the following game. In an attempt to reach a 247-point target, the batting order collapsed and was bundled out for just 146. For India to secure a series victory, they needed to win the third game. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya led India to a series victory by leading them in an outstanding run chase that they achieved.

After 16.2 overs, India was in trouble at 72-4 after losing the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav. At that point, Hardik Pandya entered the batting order. Then, in an innings that featured 10 fours, he scored 71 runs off just 55 balls. Additionally, he and Pant formed a magnificent 133-run stand-alone combination that helped India regain the initiative against England.

‘Hardik was fluent in his innings’: Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan, a former Indian bowler, praised Hardik Pandya’s batting brilliance against England and in particular the assistance he gave Man of the Match Rishabh Pant, who went on to score the game-winning hundred.

“They both batted quite effectively. Pant took his time at first and left when there were about 20 of them for two. But Hardik played excellent batting. He batted with a pretty good strike rate, was fluid throughout his innings, and relieved pressure on Pant” Zaheer Khan in a Cricbuzz interview.

Hardik Pandya’s contribution to the match was not limited to his bat. Pandya had earlier completed with career-best figures of 4/24 in the series decider. After Krishnamachary Srikkanth, Sourav Ganguly, and Yuvraj Singh, he had become the fourth Indian cricketer to score a half-century and take four wickets in the same match. For his efforts, Pandya was also named Man of the Series.

Also Read: ENG vs IND: Hardik Pandya Walks Into Any Side Easily If He Performs This Well – Wasim Jaffer