WI vs IND | 'Had A Wonderful Chat With Virat': Hardik Pandya
Stand-In Captain Hardik Pandya shined in the third ODI [Source: Twitter]
After disappointing outings in the first two One-Day Internationals (ODI) against West Indies, Team India batters displayed their brutal best in the series decider on Tuesday in Trinidad. In-form Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, and stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya contributed to India's massive score of 351.
Bowlers Mukesh Kumar and Shardul Thakur rocked Windies batting to bits, claiming seven wickets between them, as India won the encounter by 200 runs, and clinched the series 2-1.
Pandya, who has struggled to find any rhythm with the bat since Indian Premier League (IPL), finally looked well-settled in the middle. The all-rounder has in the past been guilty of throwing his wicket away, trying to play extravagant shots despite having plenty of overs remaining.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Pandya credited former captain Virat Kohli for much-needed form, where the former scored 70 off 52 balls, including four fours and five sixes.
Here's what Pandya said
"I had a very wonderful chat with Virat a couple of days back, and the kind of input he gave me, he has seen me throughout the years. It's been almost seven or eight years of international cricket and he has seen me from day one. He had some pointers which really helped me."
"He just wanted me to spend some time on the crease and get used to the 50 or game as well because we have played so many T20 formats and yeah, that kind of stayed in my mind and I was just waiting for the opportunity. I'm really thankful to him as well to kind of share that experience with me."
Pandya stepped in as leader in the second ODI after management decided to rest regular skipper Rohit Sharma along with veteran batter Kohli. Gujarat Titans captain maintained that both Sharma and Kohli are integral part of the team and asserted that the think tank wanted to hand youngsters a chance.
"Virat and Rohit are a very integral part of the team. And, you know, obviously, this was very important for someone like Rutu to get a game or Axar to get a game because they've been playing cricket for so many years, they know how exactly all these situations have been. So kind of giving them the youngsters exposure and kind of making sure that if we want to check something, we have the opportunity to do it."
High on confidence, Pandya will lead India in the T20Is, which start on August 3 and will feature several new names.
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