Hardik Pandya always seemed to like speed. As a child he liked two-minute noodles and now as a young cricketer, he revels in quick scoring and bowling fast. South African speedster Dale Steyn is his hero and modelled his bowling action after him. After going through many ups and downs 바카라 both on the family front and on the cricketing greens 바카라 Pandya has finally announced his arrival on the international cricket firmament as a force.
In the just-concluded home one-day series against Australia, he shone with both bat and ball, drawing warm praise from the connoisseurs. So much so that some people have even started comparing him to arguably India바카라s best all-rounder, Kapil Dev. That comparison may be too early, but the Baroda kid does have the game to take him places. He is already seen as a key to India바카라s 2019 World Cup campaign.
Pandya, who turns 24 on October 11, seems a natural with both bat and ball. And after his remarkable performance against Australia, captain Virat Kohli said he was the 바카라biggest asset바카라 emerging from the series that India effortlessly won 4-1. Pandya바카라s all-round act -- 222 runs at an average of 55.50 and six wickets 바카라 won him the coveted Man of the Series award. Besides, Pandya won two Man-of-the-Match awards in the series, largely for his breathtaking batting. His match-winning 66-ball 83 at No.7 in the first ODI in Chennai and 72-ball 78 at No.4 in the third in Indore made everyone sit up and take notice of his big hitting game. Those knocks provided a glimpse of his talent and the ability to score fearlessly with amazing power in hands, particularly the bottom one. Now, he has another opportunity in the three T20 Internationals against Australia to build on that.
(PTI file photo)
Although all of Pandya바카라s deeds thus far point to a promising international career -- 26 ODIs, three Tests and 19 T20s -- some people are surprised at his sudden rise. However, one person who is not is former India wicket-keeper Kiran More, who coached Pandya at his Baroda academy since the time he joined it as a seven-year-old. 바카라He was always a special talent. Players like him and Rishabh Pant are rare talent. Both Hardik and his elder brother Krunal had a passion for cricket,바카라 says More. The former chairman of the national selection committee knows Pandya inside out as he has seen him grow and mature into a fine all-rounder.
At the Kiran More Cricket Academy in Baroda, Pandya바카라s main occupation was batting and leg-spin bowling. Then a providential incident that decisively changed his career happened. For a local league match in Baroda, a pacer in More바카라s academy team did not turn up and Hardik bowled fast that day in a career-changing decision. 바카라It happened about five years ago. Till then he was bowling leg-spin but was struggling with it. In that match he bowled with a Dale Steyn-like action, took seven wickets in that match, and he hasn바카라t stopped bowling fast since. Due to bowling fast he sustained back and other injuries, though,바카라 recalls More. 바카라But after he joined Mumbai Indians his fitness has really improved because the IPL franchise has set high fitness standards. Then, he suddenly grew very tall.바카라
Not just in height, Pandya바카라s rapid rise through the ranks also surprised many people, including Sachin Tendulkar. Pandya바카라s Baroda captain Irfan Pathan, too, is pleased at his junior teammate바카라s progress. 바카라His batting has always been good, but he will have to keep working on his bowling to maintain it. As an all-rounder, it바카라s important that he bowls his quota of 10 overs in one-dayers,바카라 says Pathan. Ironically, Pathan, looking much leaner and fitter now, will be aiming to turn in good performance in this domestic season to try and stage a comeback to the Indian team for the same all-rounder바카라s spot Pandya is occupying. But the professional competition has not stopped the large-hearted Pathan to help Pandya by gifting him bats and other cricket stuff in the days when he couldn바카라t purchase them due to his family바카라s financial status.
Like Pathan, former India pacer Madan Lal, too, wants Pandya to bowl his quota of overs in ODIs to complete the all-rounder바카라s role. 바카라He needs to bowl all 10 overs, though he has taken some crucial wickets in the ODI series against Australia. It바카라s because India need a bowling all-rounder,바카라 he points out. New Baroda Ranji Trophy coach Atul Bedade hasn바카라t coached Pandya so far, but he too is impressed. 바카라He adapts quickly to match situations. That is a key characteristic of his game. He is a 바카라jugadoo바카라 [innovative] player,바카라 says the former India ODI player. Bedade and Pandya might share the Baroda dressing room this season if the latter finds time from India team duty to represent his city in domestic matches.
Pandya has a quick, smooth run-up and generates a decent pace despite not having a very pronounced jump just before the delivery. His fascination with Steyn can바카라t be missed in his bowling action. As a batsman, Pandya loves to puncture the on-side field. When he whacks the five-and-a-half-ounce red cherry 바카라 irrespective of it being delivered by pacers or spinners -- it more often than not sails over the boundary rope, as the Aussie bowlers discovered recently. The belligerent hitter relishes smashing sixes, often several of them successively. This streak often changes the course of the match decisively. Ask Umesh Yadav, Pawan Negi and Akash Sudan, who were all hit for successive sixes in IPL/domestic matches in recent times.
Interestingly, Pandya바카라s recent ODI success against Australia is a far cry from his T20 International debut at a packed Adelaide Oval onJanuary 26 last year. Bowling in front of 45,000 spectators, his first ever over in international cricket took 11 balls, including five wides. Since then, the slightly-built Pandya has overcome nerves and settled down well in the international arena, as he showed while hitting his maiden Test century in only his third match, against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in August. His first-innings 96-ball 108 set up India바카라s innings win and a 3-0 whitewash of the hosts.
One crucial factor has been that he has won the trust and confidence of captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri. Pandya바카라s game, particularly batting, gives the Indian team management the option to play around the batting order, and maybe use him as a floater to surprise the opponents. However, Pandya바카라s real test will come on India바카라s upcoming Test tour of South Africa, starting in December. If he succeeds on the hard and bouncy pitches over there, it바카라ll give him a world of confidence to tackle the prodigious swing in cold England, where the team will travel next summer and then play the World Cup in 2019.
Pandya바카라s performance against Australia has made some people compare him with redoubtable Kapil Dev. 바카라I don바카라t agree with that. Don바카라t even mention that. It바카라s too early to compare him with anyone. Let him grow for now,바카라 cautions Madan Lal, who used to share the new ball with the legendary pacer. Pathan says Pandya can't escape being judged, much like other cricketers, all the time. 바카라The process to judge players will never stop, so give Hardik the breathing space and let him flourish as well. International cricket is all about consistency and longevity,바카라 he says.
For the time being, though, Pandya is high on confidence. It augurs well for both him and the India team as it next locks horns with New Zealand in an ODI and T20 series, starting October 22. Clearly, Pandya has a vast canvass in front of him to express himself in full.
