‘Body is feeling better with every match’ – Hardik Pandya speaks about his fitness and bowling in second ODI against New Zealand
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya feels his body is getting back into shape and is also able to meet the demands of the ODI format. In the second ODI at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur, he picked up 2-16 in his six-over spell. He picked up the crucial wickets of Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner. His spell helped India keep New Zealand down to just 108.
Pandya is getting promoted in terms of the leadership role in ODI cricket. He has led the side in T20Is after the 2021 World Cup and he has been appointed as vice-captain in the ODI format. He has shown his rebirth and proved himself as a captain in the Indian T20 League 2022.
‘It was a brilliant day for us’ – Hardik Pandya during mid-innings break in Raipur
In the Indian T20 League 2022, Pandya led the Gujarat side to a title in their first season. He marshalled a star-studded side with the likes of David Miller, Rasid Khan, Shubman Gill and Rahul Tewatia to win the tournament. He batted primarily at no. 4 for the franchise and also started bowling and is also turning out to be a prolific wicket-taker.
Pandya took a spell-binding catch to remove Conway off his own bowling and then castled Santner with a good slower ball. He removed the left-hander when he was looking good on 27 off 29 balls with three fours. “A brilliant day to be honest, we used the wicket rightly and everything went well for us. That wasn’t bad at all (on the return catch),” He told the host broadcasters Star Sports during the innings break.
The allrounder said that he is happy with the way things are going concerning his bowling and fitness in the 50 -over format. “I am just getting used to bowling in ODIs again, my body is feeling better with every match, it’s coming on nicely and timely as well,” Pandya added. The bowlers used the pitch at Raipur to good effect and they were spot-on with their lines and lengths. They had reduced the black caps to 15-5 at one point.
