Former Australian batsman, Michael Bevan has showered praise on Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya for his outstanding performance against Aaron Finch-led team in the third ODI at the Manuka Oval on Wednesday.
After winning the toss in Canberra, the visitors saw yet another batting order collapse against Australia’s strong bowling attack. However, Pandya came out all guns blazing and steadied the ship for the Men in Blue.
Hardik’s unbeaten knock of 92 runs in 76 deliveries powered India to 302 runs in the 50-over game. His innings was laced with seven boundaries and a six. The 27-year-old big-hitter along with Ravindra Jadeja stitched an important partnership of 150 runs for the sixth wicket.
Impressed with Hardik Pandya’s batting heroics, Bevan came up with an interesting reaction on ICC’s latest Instagram post.
The 50-year-old commented, “Love watching Pandya play.”
Despite the presence of world-class players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shikhar Dhawan in the Indian batting line-up, Pandya emerged as India’s best batsman in the ODI series Down Under.
The Surat-born star kicked off the three-match contest with a splendid 76-ball 90 and even became the fastest Indian player to score 1000 runs in ODI cricket.
After the conclusion of India’s innings in Canberra, Hardik said, “We had to fight it out in the middle, it wasn’t easy to start. We were probably thinking 250-270, but that’s the beauty of the game. When you try to score 70 you end up getting 90.”