Amalgam of power and poise

During the Champions Trophy in England this June, when Virat Kohli opined that Hardik Pandya could go on to become one of the most accomplished Indian cricketers of all time, it seemed like a very bold proclamation.

And during India’s tour of Sri Lanka when Kohli stated the 23-year-old all-rounder has the potential to become the next Ben Stokes — arguably the best all-rounder across all formats in world cricket now — one wondered if the skipper was going way out of the way to promote and push the talent at his disposal.

No doubt Pandya is extremely talented and immensely confident of his abilities, but he was still very raw to international cricket and was largely known for his exploits in the Indian Premier League. Barring a couple of blistering ODI knocks and a sensational final over versus Bangladesh in the World T20 last year, Pandya hadn’t done anything spectacular at first-class level or international stage.

Judging by the Baroda cricketer’s brilliant performances over the last few months though, one can’t disagree as to why the skipper and even the legendary Rahul Dravid speak so highly of him. He proved he is cut for the grind of Test cricket when he hit an exact half-century on debut against Sri Lanka and then in the third game, batting with just the tail-enders, hammered a breath-taking century to lay the foundation for a historic 3-0 sweep.

On Sunday at the M A Chidambaram Stadium, Pandya presented another version of himself. He showed that he is evolving at a rapid rate and is not just a brash cricketer who can swing from ball one. He showed he can graduate from being just an impact player down the order to a genuine match-winner. He proved that the flashy dressing and hair-styles are just his outer persona but inside he is a thinking cricketer, willing to learn the tricks of the trade by the hard way.

Walking in to bat with India precariously placed at 87/5 with just 21.3 overs gone, Pandya swallowed his ego and played with maturity in the presence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Watching the way the famed finisher was going about his business in a calm and composed manner without taking any risks from the other end, Pandya too embraced the same way.

In the first 45 balls he faced he scored just two boundaries but at the same time he went about his job in a busy manner. But like how Dhoni had done so often in his prime, he bid his time early on and then gambled upon attacking a weak bowler — in this case Adam Zampa — to strategically plunder Australia. In a brutal attack, he hammered the leg-spinner for a boundary and three sixes in the 37th over to send the crowd into raptures. Thereafter he looked to only dominate and eventually fell for 83 but not without making another statement.

Later, he made a telling impact with the ball too. For much of the Test series earlier this year, the Indians had been struggling to dismiss Steve Smith for a cheap score. Pandya responded to that question as well. Well aware of the Australian’s tendency to shuffle across, he kept bowling slightly short of length and forced the right-hander into playing an uncharacteristic shot. Although much of the credit for the wicket goes to Jasprit Bumrah for pulling off a stunning catch running backwards, Pandya, who can bowl in the late 130 and early 140 kmph range, looks like he is ready to make the all-rounder slot his own.

“It was a good day for me,” Pandya told the host broadcaster after the match. “I don’t think anything has changed. I’m the same Hardik, perhaps a bit calmer than last year. I just wanted to play my game. I knew what he (Zampa) was going to bowl. We were planning and eventually I targeted one over. As a cricketer, it is important to have the right form. I am glad I am doing well in the batting and bowling departments. I have a wonderful bunch of people around me and I’d like to thank my coach.”

If Pandya can keep his head firm and pull off such performances consistently, it will justify the faith placed on him by Kohli and Dravid.