They didn’t take their chances: Pandya

There was not much in offer for the bowlers: Pandya

Hardik Pandya had picked up 2 crucial wickets for India

In a post-match interview, television host Jatin Sapru asked the vice-captain of the Indian team, Hardik Pandya about  how he assessed the middle overs of the Pakistani innings when the scoring rate was low but Pakistan appeared to be getting a grip of the game in a gradual manner. “In that phase, my assessment is that they were slightly timid during the middle overs. They didn’t take their chances. This made us feel that we are in the game. There was not much in offer for the bowlers. We were intent on sticking to our line and length and there was the occasional ball that kept low but they did not play many shots or try to attack us so we were able to create a lot of dot balls. From my experience, in One-Day International (ODI) cricket, when two players follow a similar template, in the event that one wicket falls, a lot of doors are opened,” Hardik Pandya opined. 

Hardik Pandya had earlier managed to get the crucial wickets of Imam-Ul-Haq when he was on 36 and looking formidable and Mohammad Nawaz, towards the end of the game, when Pakistan hinted at a recovery after having lost 5 wickets to expose the tail.