Skipper Virat Kohli hails all-rounder Hardik as his 72-ball 78 helps India beat Australia in third ODI to win series 3-0
Hardik Pandya in full flight against Australia at Indore yesterday. Pic /AFP
Skipper Virat Kohli last night heaped praise on all-rounder Hardik Pandya after he steered the hosts to a series-clinching five-wicket win over Australia in Indore.
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Pandya’s 72-ball 78 and his crucial fifth-wicket stand with Manish Pandey, who remained unbeaten on 36, helped the hosts chase down their 294-run target with 13 balls to spare.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane put together a 139-run partnership and laid a solid foundation as the team went on to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. But it was Pandya who showed maturity after being promoted to No. 4 in the batting order as he put on 78 runs with Pandey.
"Here’s our man of the moment, promoted to No. 4 and he delivers. How do you feel," Kohli, said in a video posted on Twitter last night. Standing alongside the man of the moment, Kohli is all smiles, Pandya replies, "It feels great. I got the opportunity to bat at No. 4. That was good."
Kohli continues: "Feels really good. We are very happy with the series win and this guy [Pandya] has done bloody well in two games for us. He’s a superstar."
Later, Pandya replied to Kohli’s video post on social media, saying "Thank you for all the motivation and support skipper. Great feeling to go 3-0 up and clinch the series!"
It was also the Indian bowlers, who set up the comfortable victory after opener Aaron Finch’s blazing century, restricting the visitors to 293-6 at the batting-friendly Holkar Cricket Stadium.
In reply, Rohit, who hit 71, and Rahane, who made 70, combined the right dose of caution and aggression to give the Australian bowlers a hard time. Rohit hit a huge six off Kane Richardson early in the innings that sailed out of the ground to signal his intent.
He registered his 33rd ODI fifty with another six off Ashton Agar. The departure of the openers though created an opportunity for the Australian bowlers, who at times, were left hard done by their fielders.
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