India vs Australia: ‘Man of the Match’ Hardik Pandya says T Natarajan should have won the award

India vs Australia: ‘Man of the Match’ Hardik Pandya says T Natarajan should have won the award
Hardik Pandya 1
Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya helped India win the T20I series against Australia with an explosive finish at the death. In what was a stiff target of 195 which was set courtesy of stand-in captain Matthew Wade and Steve Smith, India ensured the target was never out of reach. However, as the wickets kept falling towards the end, it was left to Shreyas Iyer and Pandya to finish the game for India, especially given the absence of Ravindra Jadeja.

And that was exactly what the duo did as the game was finished off with 2 balls to spare. Pandya hit two huge sixes off the last over bowled by Daniel Sams when 14 runs were required to take India home and finish on 42 runs off just 22 balls. With the innings, he also walked home with the Man of the Match award.

‘I have been in such situations many times’ – Hardik Pandya

T Natarajan
T Natarajan

Speaking at the post-match presentation after being awarded the Man of the Match award, Hardik Pandya spoke about his thought process in such situations. “It’s very simple. I like to look at the scoreboard and play so that I know which bowlers to target. I have been in these situations many times and I learnt from my mistakes in the past,” he said.

“My game is always around the confidence which I carry, it has that fine line where I back myself and not become overconfident. I always remember all those times when we chased big totals and it helps,” he added.

Pandya also mentioned that T Natarajan who returned figures of 2-20 on a difficult pitch for bowlers should have received the Man of the Match award. “They were batting really well and we wanted to be positive and special mention to Natarajan as well. I thought he should be the Man of the Match, because the bowlers struggled here and he had a really good game,” Pandya signed off.

Also Read: “They have the best No. 6 and No. 7” – Brad Hogg identifies ‘advantage India have over all the other teams’ going into T20 World Cup 2021