Hardik Pandya made it absolutely evident that he had nerves of steel, as he helped India to win an absolute nerve-wrecking contest against Bangladesh at Bangalore. The game was in the pocket of Bangladesh and with just 2 needed in 3 deliveries, the game should have been sealed off by the Tigers. But what followed ahead was simply magical as Pandya took 2 wickets and a run-out on the last ball won the game for India.
In the post-match presentation, skipper MS Dhoni lauded Pandya for bowling that last over. “Overall, very good bowling effort. There were quite a few stuff we were discussing. We didn’t want Pandya to bowl the yorker, it had to be back of a length and how much back of a length, you don’t want the batsman to connect, what field should it be. His execution of the last delivery was fantastic,” said Dhoni.
Dhoni also spoke about the nature of the game in general and said that any team could win on their day. “At times, you look to finish it with a big shot. When you are batting well, you go for it. It is a learning for Mahmudullah and others who finish games. That is what cricket is all about. If it had gone for six, everybody would have said what a shot. It is important to decide before playing the shot if you have to play it or not. I think Bumrah bowled really well, the second over he bowled, he was under pressure that was because he had not fielded well. That can happen in this format. He did well to forget that and bowl the crucial 19th over.”
“They were cruising and scoring at a decent rate, instead of using our part-timers, we used our proper bowlers and that made a difference in the end,” explained captain cool.