Australian batting legend Matthew Hayden praised Hardik Pandya for his confidence in himself. The Indian all-rounder is having a great year since the beginning of 2022 with plenty of smashes and wickets to his name. Hayden praised Hardik for his recent 72 runs off 30 balls against Australia in the T20I series on Tuesday. The game was played on 20th September at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, Punjab.
“He has got such great belief, talent is one thing, but trusting the fact you can be a match-winner and deliver on the day. We saw in the IPL that he batted at No.4 all though ‘uh, how is he going to go about it?’ But he batted so well.” Hayden mentioned it to Star Sports.
Pandya had a good year in cricket after his break after the T20 World Cup last year. He was picked up by a new franchise called Gujarat Titans for IPL and he became the captain. Pandya quickly rose amongst the fellow team and easily defeated great teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. Pandya led his team into the IPL 2022 finals and won the trophy.
“He is such an adaptable cricketer. He has grown a lot as a cricketer. The biggest thing is the belief in himself. His ability to be able to read the situation, know the pressure is there and then handle it and deliver, it’s taking him to new levels,” The Australian opener added.
Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar talked about the improved batting and bowling ability of Hardik Pandya. He preferred the leg-side early on in his career but soon shifted to become a pacer and hitter.
“There came a time in his batting wherein he was only targeting on-side. He was literally covering the stumps and kept targeting the on-side. He had literally shut down his off-side. What he is doing now is, yes he is standing on the off-stump, but he is clearing his front foot and giving himself room to access both sides. That is where I think he has become such a destructive player. When a player of his caliber.” Sanjay Bangar said.
