ICC T20 World Cup: India batting coach lauds Hardik Pandya’s performance in clash against Ireland

New York [US], June 6 (ANI): Team India batting coach Vikram Rathore lauded all-rounder Hardik Pandya saying that he’s been bowling with some pace and accuracy following the team’s victory over Ireland in their team’s opener at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on Wednesday.

Hardik performed brilliantly in the first match of the ongoing mega event. The right-arm seamer bagged three wickets in his spell of four overs, where he conceded 27 runs and bowled one maiden over as well.

The 55-year-old asserted that Hardik is bowling really well and he looks fit enough to bowl four overs in the match.

“Hardik looked really good. Hardik has been–I mean, even in the practice game. He’s been bowling really well. He looks fit enough to go through four overs and he’s been bowling with some pace and some accuracy. So yeah, it’s great,” Rathore said in the post-match press conference.

The batting coach further hailed wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who batted at number three in the match. The southpaw played an unbeaten knock of 36 runs from 26 balls which was laced by three boundaries and two maximums in his innings.

“He has been batting really well. In the two games he has played, he has looked really, really good. So yes, at the moment, he is our number three, and it helps that he is the left-hander,” the 55-year-old asserted.

Rathore spoke about the toss factor. He said the toss was crucial in this conditions. The coach also said that if India had batted first, they also had to deal with the situation and the pitch at Nassau International Cricket Stadium.

“I think the toss is crucial in conditions like these but fortunately, we won the toss today so it was a great start, but you can’t again control that. So even if we lose the toss and we have to bat first, we still need to find ways to deal with the situation and the pitch,” Rathore stated.

In the end, Rathore spoke about the New York pitch. He said that the wicket was challenging as far as batting is concerned.

“It is a challenging wicket as far as batting is concerned but this is what we have so we need to find ways to deal with it. Like I said earlier, we have enough skills and experience in the batting group to deal with that. We have enough good batters who can manage to bat well on any kind of surface,” the 55-year-old concluded

Coming to the match, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first. The Indian bowlers put pressure on Irish batters from the start and had them struggling at 50/8. Some fightback from Gerath Delany (26 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Joshua Little (14 in 13 balls, with two fours) helped Ireland push the total to 96 in 16 overs.

Hardik Pandya (3/27), Arshdeep Singh (2/35), Jasprit Bumrah (2/6), Mohammed Siraj (1/13) and Axar Patel (1/3) put up fine bowling performances.

During the run-chase of 97 runs, a half-century from skipper Rohit Sharma (52 in 37 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and a supportive knock by Rishabh Pant (36* in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped India secure an eight-wicket win.