Sunil Gavaskar lauds Hardik Pandya for impressive show against Ireland

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya received immense criticism from fans and commentators during IPL 2024. A large section of the supporters did not appreciate his switch from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians and becoming their captain. His performance too wasn’t good enough, which could have silenced them. Coming to the T20 World Cup 2024, there were concerns with Pandya’s form but in India’s first match against Ireland, the 30-year-old proved his mettle and played an important role with the ball.

The Baroda-born cricketer picked up three wickets, giving away 27 runs in his four overs. Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was impressed with Pandya’s performance and noted that the pace-bowling all-rounder bowled four overs on the trot, which is commendable.

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“When you are playing for India it's huge. It's humongous. The way he was running in, what was impressive was that he bowled his four over on the trot. Not that he bowled two overs and took a break. That is a test that also had to be run. He has also come through that test very, very impressively,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Hardik Pandya analyses his bowling against Ireland

Speaking to the broadcaster, Pandya stated that he generally doesn't hit the wicket and tends to bowl short but given the conditions, he decided to change the line and length. He noted that there was a lot of swing on the offer in the initial overs and he took advantage of that by bowling full.

“I really liked the first wicket. Generally, don't hit the stumps often, I have a tendency to bowl back of a length. But on this wicket, I needed to be a lot fuller to be in the game. Yes, if you bowl short, the ball may fly,” Pandya said.

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Bowling first, India restricted Ireland to 96 runs in the first innings. When it came to the chase, skipper Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant looked in good touch and played a crucial role in helping India win by eight wickets.