India’s second T20I hero, Hardik Pandya has revealed how he dissected India’s tough pursuit of 195 to win the match for his team by six wickets. Pandya hit 42 unbeaten on 22 balls with three fours and two sixes and eliminated the total with India requiring 25 of the last two overs. The hit promises to enhance Pandya’s reputation as a hitter, who was already on an upward curve after hitting 90 and 92 knockouts in the ODI.
But his epic chase on Sunday is a true testament to Pandya’s sheer hitting skills. Looking back at his entries, Pandya explained how he approached the chase, saying that he has learned from his mistakes in the past. Pandya has played such strokes many times for his IPL Mumbai Indians franchise, highlighting that his approach is to break the equation in a chase.
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“I really like to see the scorecard and play. It lets you know the type of shots and the options you have. I have been in these situations many times and learned from my mistakes in the past. My game always revolves around the confidence that I have, it has that fine line that I lean on and I don’t get too confident, ”Pandya said after the game.
“I always remember all those times when we were chasing great totals and that helps. In the T20 you have more time than you think. If we need 70-80 odd numbers in 30 balls, I don’t look at everything and break it down into 12 balls and focus more on the process than the final result. They hit really well and we wanted to be positive. “
Pandya saved the best for the last two overs. With teammate Shreyas Iyer hitting a six and a limit at 18 for helping, Pandya missed two of Andrew Tye’s balls on the penultimate lap. It was then that the batter went to change bat. What followed were consecutive limits against Tye and two sixes against three balls in the final over from rookie Daniel Sams to give India a thrilling victory.
“I felt (we were) two good shots (away), quite happy. More than six wanted to finish the game. I don’t like the game going on until the last ball, I like to finish the game early, ”said Pandya.
“I was going to hit the ball anyway (smiles). Throughout all five games, I’ve been trying to figure out which bat to hit with. I broke the bat that I played with for three years. This one looks good. “
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