By: Tarish Bhatt
Hardik Pandya’s performance on his ODI debut has given plenty of options to the Indian team management. He shared the new-ball with Umesh Yadav in the opening one-dayer, and swung it both ways with pace.
Pandya consistently clocked good speeds in his opening spell. He showed that he has become fitter and stronger after his stint with the India A side. Even captain MS Dhoni said that Pandya has gained extra yards in his bowling.
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Dhoni was quick to point out that Pandya’s pace was one of the main reasons for him opening the bowling for India.
“Our thinking was to use him as one of the three seamers. He is quite deceptive, can bowl quick and got movement,” Dhoni said. “He can swing even on wickets where other bowlers don’t get that kind of swing.”
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Pandya finished with three wickets in his first one-day international. He got the key wickets of Martin Guptill, Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi. New Zealand eventually lost the match by six wickets in Dharamsala.
The Indian team is currently leading the five-match series 1-0. Delhi will host the 2nd ODI on Thursday.