Internet Desk: Ahead of the do or die fifth ODI against West Indies on Thursday, India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya backed himself to be a finisher for his team after he failed to finish the job in the fourth ODI.
The visitors just needed 29 runs from 31 deliveries when Pandya (20 of 21) threw his wicket in the fourth ODI and the Men in Blue lost the match by mere 11 runs. Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was there at the other end but his half century was not good enough to take the visitors home.
While Dhoni’s finishing powers are going down, Pandya has shown some glimpses of becoming a world-class finisher.
Talking about his partnership with Dhoni, Pandya said they were confident about chasing down the modest 190-run target.
“The conversation with MS was pretty simple to be honest. The power which we both have we thought to take the innings deep and then chase it down. Most times we would chase 31 off 29 balls but then we were not able to finish. I back myself to finish the game for the team and all these instances are part of the learnings,” said Pandya at Sabina Park.
Pandya added that he was aware of the conditions in the West Indies even before he landed in the Caribbean, thanks to his Mumbai Indians teammates in the IPL.
“I am pretty close to the names you took (Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons, who are not part of the ODI team). The first call was to Pollard. I asked him about the pitches and conditions. They are my brothers from another mother. It would have been nice to play against them and enjoy some healthy banter,” he added.