All-rounder Hardik Pandya played an outstanding shot in the third and final ODI against England on Sunday in Pune, which India won by 7 runs to secure the series 2-1. He scored a fiery 64 of 44 balls to help India score a total of 329 after the visitors opted to play in the decider of the series.
Pandya has been a promising bat contributor of late. The dynamic off-roader has 7 half centuries under its belt at One Day Internationals, but it has yet to make a century. Former Indian starter Aakash Chopra believes Pandya will break the 3-pointers in the over-50 format if he moves up the batting order.
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While speaking on Star Sports, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Hardik is playing like a skilled hitter and a ton is not out of reach.
“Hardik Pandya strikes me as a suitable hitter right now, honestly. I don’t see him as an off-roader or a finisher at all. If you raise it in order, it will also score a century if it gets enough balls. If you watch his shots today, nine times out of ten you will see cricket shots and wherever he tries to hit the ball, he has prepared so well for those shots that his execution is astonishingly good, ”Chopra said.
The former Indian cricketer said that Pandya applies a specific tactic against sewing bowlers and his dismissal has a huge impact on the India team’s final score.
“Four wickets had fallen at the same time. When KL Rahul came out, it looked like the tickets had failed. The way he hit after that, he’s got the strength, he updated his hitting software when he got injured. He’s started to play like a proper hitter, ”he said.
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“There is a specific game plan where he will go deep into the area against fast pitchers and keep his weight forward despite that, so that he is not out of position while shooting. He’s been consistently scoring runs, whether it’s spinning or fast bowling, and he was actually upset that he came out at the wrong time. If I had continued playing, 390 was also possible ”, concluded Chopra.
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