Hardik’s journey: Reckless to priceless

Improved Fitness Has Helped Pandya Bowl At Sharp Pace And New-Found Ability to Mentor A Precocious Talent Like Pant During A Tricky Chase Adds To His CV

- Gaurav Gupta

Throughout the first few years of his international career, Hardik Pandya was unfairly compared to legendary allrounder Kapil Dev. However, even India’s World Cup-winning captain would be proud of what Pandya achieved with the bat and ball to play a massive role in the magnificent five-wicket win over World Champions England in the final ODI at Old Trafford on Sunday. Realizing that he needed to step up as the fourth medium-pacer/fifth bowler after India lost their No 1 pacer Jasprit Bumrah to back spasms, Pandya, exploiting the bounce on the rock-hard surface, made the short ball his ‘WMD’, returning career-best figures of 7-324-4, with a first spell that read 4-2-2-2. This, by far, was his best spell with the white ball for India.

Batting at No 6, he then rescued India from a certain defeat, guiding the younger Rishabh Pant throughout their match-swinging 133run fifth wicket partnership, while blazing his way to a glorious 55-ball 71.

‘Was in shock when MI didn’t retain him’

Pandya has been a different player ever since MI preferred to release him ahead of IPL-15 mega auction earlier this year. Determined to prove his worth, the Baroda man has just taken in his kit bag to England the sizzling form he showed in IPL-2022, where he scored 487 runs in 15 games, with four fifties while batting at the pivotal No 4 spot and eight wickets@27.75, leading his new IPL team, Gujarat Titans to a title in their first outing.