MUMBAI: The recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, which India won 3–1, once again underlined why Hardik Pandya is India’s Most Valuable Player in the T20 format. The series also marked the premier allrounder’s rousing comeback from a quadriceps injury that had kept him out of the Indian team for nearly two-and-a-half months.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Using his bat like an axe, Pandya bludgeoned 142 runs in four matches at an average of 71.00 and a strike rate of 186.84, with two fifties. He also chipped in with three wickets at 38.00, conceding runs at an economy rate of 10.36. In the first T20I at Cuttack, the Baroda man smashed an unbeaten 59 off 28 balls and returned figures of 1 for 16 in two overs to play a key role in India’s 101-run win. On Friday night, he cracked a 16-ball fifty — the second-fastest by an Indian in T20Is.
While India produced several fine individual performances in their 30-run win over South Africa in the fifth and final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Pandya was the standout performer.His power-packed 63 off 25 balls, featuring five sixes and five fours, left the Proteas completely flattened. Later, he also dismissed the dangerous Dewald Brevis, conceding 41 runs in three overs, and was rightly adjudged Player of the Match.South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad, unaware that the Player of the Series award had gone to Varun Chakravarthy, remarked during the postmatch press conference that he would be “surprised” if Pandya did not win the honour.
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“If I were brutally honest, in taking nothing away from Bumrah, I think Hardik’s been the difference between the two teams. His knock tonight was the difference between us winning and losing. He played a knock in the first one as well, where he just walked in and we had him in a little bit of trouble,” Conrad said.“There’s a reason why he’s one of the best in the world in this format. His performances have been right up there. I don’t know who the Player of the Series is, but I’d be very surprised if it’s not him,” he added.
A source close to Pandya offered an insight into the 32-year-old’s mindset. “Post his injury, Pandya spent almost 40 days recovering at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. His mindset is sort of ‘lethal’ right now. He’s totally focused on the World Cup,” the source said.Pandya could have played the ODI series against South Africa, but it was decided at the CoE to ease him back through the T20 format, considering his injury history. He also featured in two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches for Baroda in Hyderabad. In his first competitive game since late Sept, he smashed 77 off 42 balls to help Baroda chase down 223 against Punjab.With skipper Suryakumar Yadav out of form, and modern greats Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja having retired from T20Is, India will bank heavily on Pandya, Abhishek Sharma, Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy as they seek to defend their title at the 2026 T20 World Cup in February–March.The low of 2024, and the highPandya was among the key architects of India’s triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. He produced a superb all-round performance, scoring 144 runs in eight matches at 48.00 and taking 11 wickets at 17.36, shrugging off a difficult IPL season earlier that year where he was booed by MI fans. “Though he didn’t have a great IPL, I was confident as a selector that he and Axar Patel would deliver for us in the World Cup,” former India pacer and selector Salil Ankola told TOI.“He’s a tough cookie and a world-class player,” he added.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
