Legendary Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar has an immense amount of praise on the partnership between Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant during the third ODI against England, saying that the duo can recreate how Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni used to finish games of Indian in the mid-2000s. The Indian team was in a spot of bother when Pant and Pandya came together on Sunday at Manchester as they had lost four wickets with just 72 on the board while chasing a target of 260.
The duo made a brilliant partnership of 133 runs to help India through the tough period and help the visitors win the ODI series 2-1. Pandya scored 71 runs in 55 balls, while Pant played a magnificent knock of 125 and hit the winning runs. Gavaskar, while talking to Sports Tak, showered praise on the pair for guiding India over the finish line.
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Sunil Gavaskar said, “Yes, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant can definitely form a pair like Yuvraj and Dhoni. Both had the ability to hit huge sixes and also ran well between wickets. Hardik has made his comeback at the right time because India desperately needed an all-rounder. Now they have both Pandya and Jadeja who can bat as well as bowl ten overs. You look at teams who won world championships in 1983, 1985, 2011, and 2013, all had good all-rounders.”
The Indian legend also said that the way he finished the chase against England on Sunday showed that he is a player who can absorb pressure and then attack.
Sunil Gavaskar explained, “Rishabh Pant seems to have learned from his mistakes against South Africa. He chased balls outside off stump to slog them over the leg side then, but the way he batted with responsibility yesterday shows how well he paced his innings. The way he smashed a flurry of boundaries towards the end showed that he is someone who can absorb pressure and then attack.”
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Gavaskar further commented by saying that it will be interesting to see if Pant can carry his form into the T20I format. However, the Indian cricket legend said that it does seem like the 24-year-old has found the template for success in white-ball cricket. The former Indian captain also talked about the difference between ODIs and T20Is, and said that everyone needs to show patience with Pant.
