For about 20 minutes, Hardik Pandya played a breathtaking innings that almost threatened an unlikely comeback. Indians all over the world dared to dream, as Pandya smashed the ball into the stands on more one occasion. But it ended in cruel fashion for Pandya, who was run out after a mix up with Ravindra Jadeja. After the match, Hardik Pandya sent an emotional tweet to all his fans.
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In the post match press conference, Virat Kohli paid tribute to Pandya’s brave knock. Kohli said that Pandya was in the zone today, and had he stayed on for the next half hour something special might have taken place.
It was unfortunate that his splendid knock was cut short by that run out. Many people, including former India player VVS Laxman, felt that Jadeja should have sacrificed himself when he realized that someone was going to get run out anyway. But it was not to be.
This was the message that Pandya posted on social media after the match,
https://twitter.com/hardikpandya7/status/876622510355128320
Ricky Ponting has called Pandya a ‘top class’ all rounder, and believes he could become a major force for his country in the years to come. While he has become a superb T20 player, he still has some work to do in the 50 over format. But there is no doubt that he has all the tools to develop into the all rounder that India has been searching for a very long time.
Kapil Dev was a genuine fast bowling all rounder for India. While several players flirted with that position, no has truly been able to nail down that spot in the team since the legendary captain. Irfan Pathan was the closest, but he fell of the radar pretty soon.
Maybe, it is time Hardik Pandya had a shot?
