When it comes to cricketing talent in India, it is limitless, as an abundance of cricketers can be found, who can specialise in a particular department. Meanwhile, former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach, Tom Moody, has identified an Indian talent, who is excellent in the role of a finisher.
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As far as the best finisher in Indian cricket is concerned, former Indian skipper MS Dhoni is undoubtedly the name that comes to one’s mind. However, with he retired from international cricket now, Moody believes that it is Mumbai Indians’ (MI) all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who can execute the role properly. He even termed him as a rare breed.
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“Finishers like him are rare, and when he’s in that type of form, you’d pick him every day of the week because players that can put a finishing touch like he did – took the score from what we thought was going to be 170, 175 range – it’s game over. That is an impactful moment in the game, even though he was out there for only 14 balls,” Moody quoted to ESPNCricinfo.
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Pandya has been fairly impressive this season for MI, scoring 278 runs in 12 innings, at an average of 39.71, including a half-century. It was his 14-ball 37 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 1 of the playoffs on Thursday, that caught everyone’s eyes, as it allowed MI to put up a good total on the board.
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Furthermore, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, too, was impressed by Pandya’s hard-hitting skills, who has a violent strike-rate of 182.89 this season. “It was unbelievable. At one stage you were expecting Mumbai to get what, 170?” he had said.
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“From there, getting to 200 was unbelievable and that is where I think they pushed Mumbai out of the contest. And then, the way they started. Hardik Pandya getting those 38 off 14, 15 balls against Rabada, Nortje is serious batting,” added Gambhir.
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Meanwhile, Pandya played as a specialist batsman for the side this season and refrained from bowling. He made his competitive cricket comeback this season after being out of action for some time, owing to back surgery, he underwent last year. He has been advised against pushing himself to bowl too soon.
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