The seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya has received special plaudits from veteran Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara, after the former played a significant role to hand-over India a 50-over series win over Australia, in the third One-day international at Holkar Stadium in Indore after thrashing visitors by five wickets.
The Matale-born 39-year-old Sangakkara believes Pandya is a vital cog in the Indian side which has eventually made the team competitive across all circumstances – to reach the greater heights.
“India looks a complete side for all conditions,” Sangakkara wrote on his official Twitter handle.
The sudden promotion worked wonders, as the experiment from Kohli had yielded the desired results while playing a sensible knock, before Pandya was caught by Kane Richardson, on the bowling of pace portent Pat Cummins on the penultimate delivery of 46th over when India was 284.
The 23-year-old Gujarat-born Pandya rose to the occasion following his astronomical rise in Tests and ODIs, as veteran southpaw Sangakkara has hailed him as a ‘special player’ for the gentleman’s game.
“@BCCI seemed to canter to the series win. @hardikpandya7 is a very special player,” the other-half of the tweet read.
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Having the vast experience on his back, Sangakkara has a prolific first-class record on his back. He played 404 ODIs, 134 Tests and 56 T20Is between 2000 and 2015.
The promising batsman, Hardik on Sunday, was promoted up the order when hosts were chasing down the target of 294 on a placid surface.
In a convincing win for the Virat Kohli-led Men in Blue, Pandya smashed 78 off 72 balls – to score with the score of 108.33. He smashed five boundaries and four sixes.
Following the prolific 139-run stand between Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, hosts lost wickets at quick intervals between 35th and 36th over, in the form of Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav, it was promising prospect Pandya, who shifted the gear alongside Manish Pandey.
With the consecutive win in first three matches, India has been propelled to the World No. 1 in the ODI rankings set-up for the world cricket governing body ICC.
The right-handed Pandya was adjudged Man of the Match, as he was the top-scorer for India.
Pandya made his appearance on the international scene in October 2016; he played 24 ODIs, 19 T20Is and three Tests.
Showing the courage early on in his international cricket, Pandya is averaging 59.33 in five-day format and 40.75 in the 50-over format.
Here’s what Sangakkara tweeted after watching Pandya’s batting:
@BCCI seemed to canter to the series win. @hardikpandya7 is a very special player. India looks a complete side for all conditions
— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) September 24, 2017
And this is how Pandya reacted on legend’s tweet:
Thank you for the kind words sir! ?
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) September 24, 2017