IPL 2020 : “Finishers like him are rare,” Tom Moody hails Hardik Pandya for his explosive cameo against DC

MS Dhoni is the first name that pops up in our mind when we hear the word “finisher”. But with him hanging his boots this year team India is now on a hunt to find a worthy successor for the former India skipper. And Tom Moody believes that answer is right under their noses as he heaps praises on the promising all-rounder.

Moody lauded Mumbai Indians‘ all-rounder Hardik Pandya for his explosive cameo against Delhi Capitals in the first qualifier. The former Australian all-rounder even went on to brand the young sensation as a “rare finisher“. Pandya smashed 27 off just 14 balls in the first qualifier to propel MI to a mighty total of 200 in the crucial game.

“Finishers like him are rare, and when he’s in that type of form, you’d pick him everyday of the week because players that can put a finishing touch like he did – took the score from what we thought was going to be 170, 175 range – it’s game over. That is an impactful moment in the game, even though he was out there for only 14 balls,” Moody told ESPNCricinfo.

That was some serious batting

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir is mighty impressed by the knock too which featured five maximums. Gambhir points out how impactful the knock was as Pandya and Ishan Kishan scored a whopping 78 runs off the last five overs of the game. This fiery finishing is what pushed DC to the edge of the game before Jasprit Bumrah‘s four wickets delivered the knockout punch.

“It was unbelievable. At one stage you were expecting Mumbai to get what, 170? From there, getting to 200 was unbelievable and that is where I think they pushed Mumbai out of the contest. And then the way they started. Hardik Pandya getting those 38 off 14, 15 balls against Rabada, Nortje is serious batting.” Gambhir said.

With the all round win against DC, MI are well set to lift the IPL trophy for a record fifth time on the 10th of November.

Also read : IPL 2020: Hardik Pandya takes a knee in support of ‘Black Lives Matter’ (BLM) Movement, becomes first player in the tournament