Irfan complimented how Hardik went after the South African spinners from the start. The former all-rounder praised the Men in Blue ace all-rounder for being the difference between a sub-par total and a score that ultimately proved more than competitive enough.
“The way Hardik Pandya batted, it didn’t feel like he was coming back from injury. He looked in full form. He was in control at 75-90% and played big shots straight away against spinners. Pandya’s strength is that he goes for the big shots when the length is full. He also batted with control against pace bowling that clocked past 150 and his innings was the difference,” Irfan said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Hardik’s knock consisted of six fours and four sixes. He achieved his sixth T20I fifty in style and was the main reason India achieved the score they achieved after being invited to bat first by Aiden Markram at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
No other Indian batsman could score even half of what Hardik finished with. Later, the hosts were clinical with the ball as they took a 1-0 lead and won the match by a huge margin of 101 points. Hardik also scored with the ball, taking the wicket of David Miller while conceding 16 runs in his two overs.
Hardik had suffered a left quadriceps injury during India’s title-winning series at the Asia Cup a few months ago. He was out of competitive cricket for a while and recently represented Baroda in the ongoing installment of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. With the T20 World Cup just around the corner, Hardik’s form will be crucial to how India perform in the global event.
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