CT 2017: Hardik Pandya relishing Dhoni's finishing tips

Team India managed to completely outplay Bangladesh in their second warm-up game ahead of the Champions Trophy. After having piled up a mammoth 324 runs on the board, the bowlers did a fantastic job to bundle out the opposition for a paltry 84. The batting effort deserves special credit since the big guns did not take the field. It was Dinesh Karthik’s 94 and a superlative effort from Hardik Pandya that propelled India to a big score.

Hardik bludgeoned a quickfire 80 off 54 balls towards the fag end of the innings. The Baroda all-rounder reflected back at his innings after the game. As per the quotes in Wisden India, Hardik Pandya noted that it is all about settling in the English conditions. One has to keep an eye on the clouds. It is easier to hit when the clouds are not there.

“We all know that once you spend time on the England wickets, you can score in the end. You have to score runs but when the ball is moving about, it’s not always easy. When the clouds are there, the ball is swinging and the batsmen are in trouble. When it’s bright and shiny, it’s a flat track – it’s the first time I have seen (something) like this. It would be a challenge for all of us to keep an eye above for the clouds and play accordingly,” quoted Hardik Pandya.

The way Hardik finished the innings for India will certainly make the team proud. Earlier, skipper Virat Kohli had conceded that having Hardik and Kedar eases out pressure on MS Dhoni in the late part of the innings. Now, even Hardik has admitted that it was MS Dhoni’s tips that helped him settle in the role of the finisher for the national side.

“I had a chat with Mahi bhai.  He said ‘If you can take some time at the start, later on the runs are there to come’. The best part I have learned from him is when he shares his opinions and experience. I still remember one incident when I asked him how to finish games during the England (home) series,” Hardik Pandya noted.

Hardik Pandya reveals the big tip

He further added that the finisher has to be selfless. He needs to quickly adapt to the situations and then play according to the merit of the ball. By doing so, one can avoid building too much pressure on him. Pandya cited this as a very big tip that has helped him to evolve as a player and is now relishing those tips given to him by MS Dhoni.

“He said that you need to make sure you have to see (only the team’s score on) the scoreboard. You need to make sure you see the situations and play accordingly. That way I have noticed that you don’t have pressure on yourself. Because you want the team to win, that’s the motive. So you don’t have your own personal pressure that you have to do something special. You just have to focus on what you can do for the team and play according to the situation’. That was a big tip which he gave me and which eventually helped me,” he quoted.

On his bowling

In the first warm-up game, Hardik had even opened the innings for India with the ball. However, he turned out to be the only expensive bowler from the side on the day. Talking about the same, he remarked that the lengths that he has been bowling in India are different. It is all about adapting quickly to the conditions in England to succeed.

“Obviously it’s very different to what you do in India, the situations and the conditions. I thought I should have bowled slightly fuller in the first game. It was just that it was the Indian length which we are used to. The quicker you adapt, the more useful it is for the team,” conceded the all-rounder.