India skipper Hardik Pandya on Wednesday (February 1) said he prefers to trust his instincts while leading the side.

Pandya’s comments came after India crushed New Zealand by 168 runs in the third and final T20I in Ahmedabad to clinch the series 2-1.  

For his 66 runs and five wickets in three T20Is, Hardik was adjudged Player-of-the-Series. The all-rounder picked a four-wicket haul in the series-deciding third T20I.

“To be honest, my Man of the Series goes to the whole support staff. I have always played the game like this, tried to read the situation and what's required at that moment, and not have pre-conceived ideas. A lot of times I back my guts,” Hardik was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“I have got a very simple rule about my life and captaincy: if I go down, I will go down on my decisions. So at the end of the day, I take calls on my own because I like to take ownership,” he added.

Coming to the match, the Men in Blue rode on opener Shubman Gill’s whirlwind 126 not out off 63 balls to pile up a gigantic 234/4 in 20 overs after opting to bat first.

Defending the massive total, Indian bowlers, led by Hardik Pandya (4-16), ran through the Kiwi batting line-up, bundling out the visitors for a paltry 66 in 12.1 overs.

Pandya recalled the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 final, where he won the Player of the Match award for scripting his team Gujarat Titans’ title victory.

“When I played the IPL final, I felt the second innings was spicier. We want to normalise these pressure games, and hopefully we can do better at bigger stages,” he stated.

(India Today Inputs)