CHENNAI: In a must-win Super 8s game against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was key with both ball and bat to help his team win by 72 runs.
With this win, the defending champions have momentum on their side in their last Super 8s match against West Indies, a virtual knockout.
Pandya came up with a gem of an innings with an unbeaten 50 to set a good total for India. With the ball, he bowled three overs and conceded 21 runs and went wicketless. But it was his partnership with Tilak Varma that changed the match. The duo raised 84 runs in 31 balls in the fifth wicket that sealed the fate of the visitors.
"Pretty happy. Yes, it sounds like a 23-ball 50, but I think I had to reassess in the situation as well. What I meant by that is, I felt I was trying to hit too hard. Just in the game, I realized I can time the ball and hit sixes as well. So I think for me, it was a good game to continue the rhythm because I feel the couple of games I had, I could not do what I wanted. So pretty satisfied," said Hardik.
He also revealed that the Indian team were the other Super 8 fixture between South Africa and West Indies. South Africa defeated West Indies by nine wickets and stormed into the semifinals.
"We were keeping an eye (on the match). You know, now it's all about playing good cricket, backing your skill set, absorbing the pressure and, making sure that you put the best foot forward. So yeah, definitely we were keeping the eye, but at the same time, once the game got over, we focused that this is our game. We need to focus on this," he added.
The Mumbai Indians skipper said that he was enjoying his bowling and was eager to contribute more.
"Pretty good (talking about his bowling). I like bowling with the new ball. I have the skillset of bowling inswing, outswing both. So I really enjoy. I think it gives me the opportunity to take wickets as well. It challenges the batter as well. So yeah, pretty satisfied. I still have to bowl my one over, which I'm going to go after this," Hardik said.
He had bowled three overs during the game, felt that one over was short of his quota and bowled that on the practice pitch next to the main wicket.
Meanwhile, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav spoke on India's clinical performance.
"I think we wanted to leave everything behind. We didn't think too much about what we did in the league stage or what we did in the last game in Ahmedabad. But thoroughly, we had a slide which our video analyst had made for all the batters and all the bowlers, what we did over the years. We saw that slide, took a lot of positivity from that. And when we came here, I think with contributions from all the batters from top till number seven, I think it was heartening to see (them perform)," Suryakumar said after India's victory.
But the batter from Mumbai was not happy with the team's bowling.
"To be very honest, we could have been a little bit more clinical with the ball, but it's fine at the end of the day. Win is a win, but we'll take it when we move forward. But yeah, we'll tighten our screws when we go and play West Indies. I don't want to take any credit away from the batters, the Zimbabwean batters. I think they batted beautifully. Yes, the wicket was good, but the way they batted, they took their own time in the powerplay and they later on batted very smartly and credit goes to them as well. But yeah, from the bowling point of view, we could have been a little bit smarter to take those nice options," said Suryakumar.
He then spoke about the next match against the Windies.
"I think when we are in such situations (must win against West Indies), we'll have to be more courageous in taking calls and there's no other option other than taking that positive route. When we reach Kolkata, definitely we'll sit down, think about that game. But currently, a day off, travel and relax," added the India skipper.