What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
In the recently-concluded ODI series, India edged England 2-1 in their backyard. Let’s look at three positives India have drawn from the series:
1) Resurgence of Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder: 2022 has been a rite of passage for Hardik. Earlier in the year, he put up a dazzling all-round show in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and led his team Gujarat Titans to the championship title as a skipper. In the recently-concluded T20I series, he thumped a half-century and grabbed a four-wicket haul at Southampton as India won the series.
However, there were still some doubts over his ODI form. In the last three years, while Hardik’s batting form has been decent, his bowling deteriorated big-time. As a result, his place in the ODI team as an all-rounder wasn’t completely secured.
But Hardik’s rousing performance in the ODI series against England has silenced all the carping naysayers. While in the first ODI he didn’t get to bat, the 28-year-old scored 29 and snaffled two wickets. After the first two matches, the series was levelled 1-1.
In the 3rd ODI, which was a decider, the all-rounder bowled with biting zip and snapped up four wickets to restrict England to 259. Then he came good with the bat as well when India were reeling at 72-4 and cracked a turbocharged 71 off just 55 balls to steer India to the series win.
The gifted cricketer has worked immensely on his fitness and is proving to be a great asset for India in white-ball cricket. A fit Hardik will remain India’s first-choice all-rounder in both the T20Is and ODIs.
2) Rishabh Pant’s ODI baptism: It is hard to believe that an audacious wicketkeeper-batsman like Pant blasted his first ODI century at Old Trafford after 26 matches. Though the left-hander has been incredibly sensational in the Test format, with 5 hundreds in 31 matches, his performance in the ODIs before this series remained inexplicably underwhelming.
Surprisingly there were calls to axe him from the ODI squad from some quarters but thankfully the selectors were sensible and persisted with him. On Sunday, Pant stepped up to the plate and unleashed a blistering hundred – an unbeaten 125 off 113 balls – as India sealed the series.
The dashing wicketkeeper-batsman has perhaps hit upon the right template on how to structure an innings in this format. In the 3rd ODI, he eschewed impetuosity and took his time to settle. He didn’t try any rash shots early in his innings and teed off only after he got his eye in. Pant reached his fifty in 71 balls and then went into high gear. He took only 35 balls to hammer the next 50 runs.
Given his repertoire of shots and skills, coupled with the knack for scoring runs under pressure, he is arguably the most impactful batsman at present across formats.
3) Yuzvendra Chahal’s revival: After making merry with his fellow comrade Kuldeep Yadav between 2017 to 2019, Chahal went off the boil in the ODIs. India sorely missed his wicket-taking abilities, especially during the middle-order. During the same period, Kuldeep’s ODI form also tailed off.
But a rejuvenated Chahal is once again spinning the proverbial web around batsmen in this format. Earlier this year, he snared four scalps in an ODI against West Indies at Ahmedabad. Now in the series against England, the leg-spinner once again exhibited guile and gusto to finish with seven wickets. Every team wants an accomplished wrist-spinner in their ranks and with Chahal’s revival, India can heave a sigh of relief.
