In the second T20 match against Australia, India had to chase a mighty total of 195 in just 20 overs. Every batsman did what they had to but even so, it wasn’t enough and that’s where Hardik Pandya took matters into his own hands. His 42 of 22 balls helped India bag the 2-0 lead in T20 after losing to Australia in ODIs. His inning was more fabulous because it did not make the team feel the absence of MS Dhoni and ironically also reminded them how MS used to finish the games for India in a similar fashion.
With Hardik Pandya handling the finishing side of a match for India, the team management can take a break from finding Dhoni’s replacement as a finisher. He scored 90 of 76 in the First ODI, 28 in 2nd, and 92 of 76 in the 3rd ODI against Australia. He then scored a match-winning inning in the 2nd T20 in Australia and made himself known as the perfect finisher after Dhoni. Hardik has constantly been outstanding for India in all formats and also, he was a significant part of Mumbai Indians’ 5th IPL win.
The 2nd T20 against Australia was more significant because it was a team effort. Shikhar and Rahul led the foundation for the team and Virat has always made things easier for the team. Scoring 70 in the last six overs was still a challenge, but even then, Hardik did not panic since he has been in such situations before. Iyer’s 12 of 5 balls did make things easy at the end and also made Hardik aware that he can take chances against any ball as there is another top batsman at the other end. Scoring 14 in 4 balls of the last over, Hardik ensured all the Indians that we will be finishing all the games for India from now.
