Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar heaped praise on Hardik Pandya for his unbeaten knock of 71 runs during Team India’s four-wicket loss in the first T20I in Mohali, saying the star all-rounder is playing on a different planet currently.
Manjrekar further admitted that there were concerns about whether Pandya had lost his form during the recent Asia Cup 2022, but he stunned one and all with his sizzling batting against Australia.
Notably, Pandya smashed 71* in 30 balls to help India post 208/6 against Australia in the first T20I match, but the Indian bowlers failed to defend the total and lost the match by 4 wickets.
Sanjay Manjrekar said while speaking on SPORTS18's show 'SPORTS OVER THE TOP': “You know we thought in the Asia cup, that maybe he’s lost his mojo a little bit and whether if he’s quickly going to come in form but that was sort of bump in the kind of batting form that we’ve seen with Hardik Pandya.”
The former batter continued, “When we talk about the form it’s not about 40s, 50s, or 60s. The kind of shots and the impact he’s making with the bat and again we’re back to the Hardik Pandya who’s playing on a different planet currently.”
Manjrekar signed off by saying, “Class batting against some quality bowling. I think that is very important to note as well. And because India batted first, it wasn’t as easy as it was in the second half of the match. So, hats off to Hardik.”
Australia will meet India in the second T20I on September 23 at Nagpur.
