Indian skipper Virat Kohli lauded star all-rounder Hardik Pandya and said that the latter has promised to commit everything to his game to double up his services in all three formats.
After losing the first T20I by 8 wickets, Team India on account of skipper Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 73 and debutant Ishan Kishan’s 56 runs bounced back to crush England by 7 wickets in the second T20I of the five-match series.
Despite the victory, the biggest positive for Team India was all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s bowling. Battling back issues, he played as a pure batsman since returning to competitive cricket in IPL 2020.
Hardik Pandya however, bowled 2 overs in the opening game but for the first time since his back surgery, he bowled 4 overs, though he didn't pick up wickets he looked comfortable.
While talking about the same Indian skipper at the post-match presentation credited Hardik Pandya for returning back to bowling and said that the latter has promised to commit everything to his game to double up his services in all three formats.
"Credit to Hardik that he's bowling at least 3 overs for us in every game. And the next six to eight months period he's promised he's going to commit everything to be the all-rounder the team needs in all three formats. He plays for the team at all times and these kinds of players are priceless," Virat Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
IND v ENG 2021: WATCH - Hardik Pandya bowls in the nets ahead of T20I series
Kohli said that they needed to be professional and finish the job properly to beat the no.1 T20I side in the world (England). He added that hosts ‘ticked all the boxes in the second game.
"England showed how good they are in the first match, so you have to be professional and finish the job properly. That's what we did tonight. Quite a good game for us. I think we ticked all the boxes we wanted to. Especially in the first innings with the ball," he said.
Virat Kohli further credited Indian bowlers for giving away only 34 runs in the last five overs and lauded Washington Sundar for a smart display of bowling.
"To give away only 34 in the last five, very smart bowling. Specially Washy, he had only one left-hander to bowl to and he used the big boundary to the right-handers better," he concluded.
The five-match T20I series between India and England stands level at 1-1. The third match will be played on 16th March at Narendra Modi Stadium.
(ANI inputs)
