Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has lavished praise on all-rounder Hardik Pandya, stating that everything about him is currently unreal. Pandya came up with a match-winning performance against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.
The right-arm pacer got the ball to bounce on the green pitch and he was able to make the most of the conditions by picking three wickets for only 25 runs in his quota of four overs. Pandya accounted for Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdil Shah, and Iftikhar Ahmed with well-directed bouncers.
On the other hand, India was struggling at 89-4 when Pandya joined forces with Ravindra Jadeja in the run-chase of 148 runs. Pandya scored 33 runs off just 17 balls and added 52 runs with Ravindra Jadeja to help India get over the line in a thrilling contest. Thus, he came up with an all-around performance and was awarded the Player of the Match.
In fact, six runs were needed off the final three balls but Pandya kept his cool to finish off the game in style with a six.
Sanjay Manrekar said while talking to Sports 18 show ‘Sport over the top’, “Just this calmness. Everything about him is currently unreal. His bowling returns are unreal, which is something that you get with others as well, but his ability to keep calm and get runs under pressure.”
“That last over was a tricky one because Hardik was in there and played the faster bowlers mostly, so there was a rhythm of hitting against the quicker bowlers and suddenly the situation was such that Pakistan had to bring in the left-arm spinner.”
Meanwhile, it looked like India will get over the line comfortably as seven runs were needed off the final over. However, the chase got tricky as Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed on the first ball while Pandya played a dot ball on the third delivery. However, the right-hander kept his cool in a tense situation to finish off the game for the team.
“Jadeja got out to the first ball and then he had four balls to get those runs. The pressure is immense but the kind of shots also that he played to get those winning runs under pressure is just outstanding.”
“I am sure from inside there is a bit of nerves but he has this confidence currently, which he said as well, that he believes that the bowler will be under more pressure. So he is just in a zone where you think everything he is doing is just unreal, absolutely brilliant.”
India will next face Hong Kong in Dubai on Wednesday.
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