JOIN USCan Pandya fill the Dhoni void?
With 14 needed from the last over in the second T20I against Australia on Sunday, Hardik Pandya deposited a length ball from Daniel Sams into the stands beyond long-on, having taken a brace off the first ball. He was then foxed by a bouncer, making room to hit over cover and only connecting air. The last-minute improvisation at an upper cut was to no avail.
The fourth ball was a slower one which Pandya picked early and sent soaring over cow corner. Easy as that, game over!
The Indian dressing room appeared tense when the equation came down to six off three deliveries, but Pandya betrayed few nerves. His calmness was a throwback to the quiet confidence Indians had come to associate with a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Pandya is no Dhoni. Not yet, at least. But if one were to go by his batting displays in the ongoing limited-overs series Down Under, there is enough evidence to suggest that he will fill the giant Dhoni vacuum. He can be the “finisher”, a role performed so efficiently and adroitly by the former Indian captain for over a decade.
“During lockdown, I wanted to focus on finishing games when it matters the most. It doesn’t matter whether I score or don’t score more runs,” Pandya said after the game. “I have been in these situations many times and I learnt from my mistakes in the past. My game is always around the confidence I carry, it has that fine line where I back myself and not become overconfident. I always remember all those times when we chased big totals and it helps.”
It certainly has in this series, where his scores read 90, 28, 92 n.o., 16 and 44 n.o. Pandya has been in imperious form since this year’s Indian Premier League, where he made a comeback after enduring another lengthy lay-off due to a back injury which required surgery in October last year. Then again, his blistering cameos for Mumbai Indians aren’t a rarity. He has been doing it as consistently for Mumbai as they have been winning IPL titles. What was, however, refreshing was Pandya extending his consistency to the national team with a touch of maturity.
Batting at 5 or 6 comes with its own set of challenges, whether you are setting a target or chasing one. You generally walk in when most of the top and middle-order is gone, and the tail is lying in wait. You don’t have the freedom to bat like an opener, who in these days of very little swing finds himself in the most privileged batting position.
A finisher has to be both anchor and enforcer, and play each of the roles based on conditions, the situation of a particular game and the opposition. Then, there has to be the mental acumen to figure out which bowlers to be seen off without too much risk and which ones to be attacked to ensure momentum isn’t completely lost. You need not only skills but also a calm, calculative head in order to think on your feet as the game unfolds - qualities that made Dhoni the ultimate finisher.
Pandya has shown in this series that there is more to his batting than just clearing the field. In at least three of his five innings, he has effortlessly played the situation. That he has been picked purely as a batsman may have contributed to his new and valuable approach, but it’s beyond doubt that he has the temperament too to optimise his prodigious talent.