180 was par on this track as it gets slower towards end: Hardik Pandya
180 was par on this track as it gets slower towards end: Hardik Pandya
NEW DELHI: Indian vice-captain Hardik Pandya expressed satisfaction with the batting unit's performance in reaching a total of 196 runs against Bangladesh. He believed that on the given track, a score of 180 would have been considered par.
India's innings was propelled by significant contributions from several players. Pandya himself played a blistering knock of 50 runs off just 27 balls.
Virat Kohli chipped in with a solid 37 runs, while Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube added 36 and 34 runs respectively. These efforts helped India post a formidable total of 196 for 5 after being asked to bat first by Bangladesh.
"Wicket looked alright, par would've been 180, we got 196. That's a good score here," Pandya, as quoted by PTI, told broadcasters at the innings break.
Dube, who has faced challenges in his performance, received commendation from Pandya for maintaining his composure and delivering a solid innings despite the pressure-filled circumstances.
"At the point Shivam went (in), couple of wickets were lost. He had to take his time and we did well to recover. His strength is to take down spinners.
"When the time came, when we could go hard, we went (after their bowling) after that," Pandya said.
The star all-rounder believed that the pitch would slow down as the match progressed.
"Definitely it tends to get slower in the end, some balls were sliding down when bowled at the right length, discipline and good bowling should do the job."
In recent times, the perception of valuable innings in cricket has undergone a significant shift, according to Ravichandran Ashwin, a seasoned off-spinner and one of the most insightful thinkers among current international players. Ashwin pointed out that the era of judging a batsman's performance solely based on reaching milestone scores of fifties or hundreds might be coming to an end.
"We are not used to an approach where batsmen throw it away after making 30's 20's, but it is about time we embrace an approach like this especially while batting first.
Top Intent from all the Indian batters so far," Ashwin wrote on X about India reaching nearly 200 with just a single half-century and three contributions upwards of 30.
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