Confident Hardik Pandya said that he would have fancied his chances even if India required 15 runs from the final over of the game against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday. India needed 7 from the last over and Pandya finished things off in style with a six to seal the win for India. The flamboyant all-rounder enjoyed success with both bat and the ball against arch-rivals Pakistan to help his team register a crucial 5-wicket win.
The 28-year-old targeted the Pakistan batters with short balls which took them by surprise. Pandya bowled with a well-executed plan as he had a proper field set-up for the short balls. The flamboyant all-rounder mixed them quite well to trouble the Pakistan batters and ended up claiming three wickets including the crucial one of Mohammad Rizwan who was the highest scorer in the match – 43.
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Talked about his bowling approach, Hardik said that his strength is bowling short and hard lengths and he tries to use them effectively to trouble the batters.
“In bowling, it’s important to assess the situations and use your weapons. For me, bowling short and hard lengths have been my strengths. It’s about using them well and asking the right questions to make the batters commit a mistake,” Pandya said in the post-match press conference.
Pandya smacked three fours in the penultimate over to make things easy for India and then got the job done with a maximum on the fourth ball of the last over. He remained unbeaten on 33 off 17 balls which was laced with 4 fours and a six.
Asia Cup 2022 India vs Pakistan Match Highlights
The flamboyant all-rounder was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance as he said that he planned the chase over by over to take the game closer.
“In a chase like this, you always plan over-by-over. I always knew that there is one young bowler and also one left-arm spinner,” he added.
He further suggested that even 15 runs are chase-able for him in the final over as the bowlers are under more pressure to defend it at that stage,
“We only needed 7 off the last over but even if we needed 15, I’d have fancied myself. I know the bowler is under more pressure than me in the 20th over. I try to keep things simple,” he concluded.
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