 "'Hardik being Hardik': Rohit all praise after Pandya stars in India's thumping Super 8 win over Bangladesh")
India captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Hardik Pandya after the all-rounder played a starring role in the Men in Blue's commanding 50-run victory over Bangladesh in their T20 World Cup Super 8 clash in Antigua on Saturday.
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Pandya smashed his way to an unbeaten 50 off 27 balls, collecting four fours and three sixes along the way to help India post a daunting 196/5 on the board — their highest total of the tournament so far — after Bangladesh opted to field. The seamer later broke the opening partnership by dismissing wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das, and finished with figures of 1/32.
“Hardik being Hardik we know what he is capable of. He is a very important player for us, if he can keep doing that, it will put us in good positions. Excitement and if we discuss something with the bowler and when it comes off, it’s nice. Everyone when it came to our bowling adapted well and we discussed those things and they did well,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation ceremony after India extended their unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup.
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Besides Pandya, Virat Kohli (37), Rishabh Pant (36) and Shivam Dube (34) also helped India finish within touching distance of 200 with fast-paced 30s while skipper Rohit smashed his way to 23 off 11 balls. Kuldeep Yadav (3/19) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/13) would later play leading roles in helping the Men in Blue restrict Bangladesh to 146/8 in reply, the former collecting three wickets in as many overs.
Pandya however, was adjudged the Player of the Match for his contribution, primarily that with the bat. And during the post-match interview, Pandya said it was essential for him to stay one step ahead as a batter throughout his innings.
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More Shorts“We have played really good cricket. More than anything we have stuck together and executed our plans. I did realise the batters wanted to use the breeze, I made sure I did not give them a chance where the wind was blowing, it was about being one step ahead as a batter,” Pandya said.
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The all-rounder also reflected on India losing wickets in clusters once again, which was the case in their second Super 8 clash as well as Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav were dismissed by Tanzim Hasan in the same over.
“We as a group can get better in a lot of places, losing wickets in bunches is something we can rectify and get better at, apart from that, we are looking good,” the Mumbai Indians captain added.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, who top-scored for his team with a 32-ball 40, lamented his bowlers leaking far too many runs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, where he though 160-170 was a par score. He also called on the batter to show more intent, especially in the powerplay and when tasked with a target in excess of 190.
“We were thinking about 160-170 when we put them into bat, but they batted well so credit to them. [on the weather and wind] I don’t think that is an issue, the players are habituated to that. We did not show as much intent as we needed with the bat, when we are chasing 190, we needed to show more intent especially in the first six. I try to contribute but need to finish the games.”
Shanto however, credited pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib (2/32) and leg-spinner Rishad Hossain (2/43) for their contributions, with the latter also chipping in with the bat with a handy knock of 24 off 10 balls.
“Tanzim Sakib in this tournament has done a great job and happy for Rishad too, we have been looking for a good legspinner for a long time now,” Shanto signed off.
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