Hardik Pandya- The Alpha Male of the Indian Team

Hardik Pandya is the man of the moment right now. After a back injury in 2018, Hardik Pandya was restricted badly. In Australia, he played solely as a batter and found success in such a role. Eight months later though his bowling was missed as Hardik Pandya the batter alone was not enough for the Indian team.

After a disastrous World Cup personally, Hardik Pandya went on a break and has now transformed himself into an incredible asset for the Indian team. While Rohit Sharma may be the captain of the Indian team, Hardik Pandya has commanded respect with his performances. 8 months into the year and Hardik Pandya has an IPL trophy to his name while also leading India in a couple of matches.

Coming into the Asia Cup, a lot of focus was on the top-order and how the bowling attack will look without Jasprit Bumrah. With the ball, Hardik Pandya was quick to answer. In his absence, the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Shivam Dube and Vijay Shankar were all tried at various stages but yesterdays spell proves why Hardik Pandya is above the rest. He bowled four tight overs. The Pandya bowling though was not the all-rounder Pandya of old. Instead, it was a genuine fast bowler.

He was cranking it up and touching 145 with ease. There was a bit of Ben Stokes in him, as Hardik Pandya relied on the short ball and had Mohammad Rizwan rushing to his pace. He was bending his back with ease and getting the ball to rise. The same back though broke away four years ago against the same opponents at the same venue. Back then it seemed as though Pandya the bowler was done. He was restricted over the next four years. However, he is now back a lot more bulkier and muscled up.

Team balance was a concern with him not bowling. His pace was a worry too, but recent months are silencing the doubters. He is back bowling at full tilt and is faster than before. With Pandya bowling, the team balance automatically looks better as they now have two bowlers who can chip in with him and Jadeja playing that role.

While his bowling is back, Hardik Pandya the batter also had a huge role in the win against Pakistan. Early in his career, Hardik Pandya was seen as a finisher. An year in the Gujarat Titans though has helped people understand his versatility as a batter. With Pandya also playing solely as a batter for a while in the Indian team, he grew in responsibility. His technique was always good enough to play multiple roles and now he is delivering.

Coming in after the fall of Suryakumar Yadav the pressure was on India. With him was Ravindra Jadeja, who ran Pandya out in the Champions Trophy Finals back in 2017. There are some bitter memories there, but both are doing the job consistently as finishers for India now. With a tricky set of overs coming up, Pandya applied the Dhoni playbook. He took the game very deep. With Pakistan penalized for over-rate, Pandya took advantage at the right moment with three fours to kill the game.

There was some calculation with the spinner likely to bowl the last over and Pandya was at his calmness. He kept his cool right till the end and looked very confident knowing that he only needed one or two good hits. In the end, his calmness prevailed. He hit a six with three balls left to seal the game. The celebration was minimal. His celebration is proof of his growth as a player as he finished the job, knowing it was in his hand.

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For India, there is a new and improving Hardik Pandya. He is taking wickets, rushing batters for pace, and is among the calmest with the bat and can also lead teams. Over the years, India has struggled with the middle order, but Pandya along with Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Karthik are ensuring that the middle-order is there strong point.

Like it was back in the early 2010s. Hardik Pandya is ensuring that there is hope in the middle-order, and India’s game starts from there. He is confident and around him there is a lot of support with Pandya leading the pack of finishers. Hardik Pandya knows his target of winning the World Cup. Looking at his maturity and calmness, India may have a real match-winner with both bat and ball in Australia. His performance last night was a clear indicative that he truly is the two in one alpha male of the Indian Team.