Hardik Pandya understands his game better since his comeback, says Rohit Sharma

PTI

Dubai, August 29

India captain Rohit Sharma feels Hardik Pandya has returned with a better understanding of his game and is more confident about what he wants to do with both bat and ball.

Hardik put up an all-round effort to help India register a five-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their Asia Cup opener on Sunday.

With the ball he snared three wickets, including that of the dangerous Mohammad Rizwan, before dazzling with a 17-ball unbeaten 33, showing his high value under extreme pressure.

For Rohit, Hardik is a man, who now knows what he needs to do in specific situations.

"Since the time he (Hardik) has made his comeback, he's been brilliant. When he was not a part of the team, he figured what he needed to do to his body and his fitness regime, and now he is clocking 140+ easily," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

"His batting quality, we all know, has been brilliant since his comeback. He is a lot calmer now and more confident about what he wants to do, whether it's with the bat or with the ball," he added.

The fact that Hardik can bowl quick was on display on Sunday.

"He can bowl really quickly, we saw that today with those short balls. It was always about just understanding his game and he's doing that well now. In a high-pressure with 10 runs per over needed, you can panic but he never showed any of that."           

Despite restricting Pakistan to a below-par 147, it was not a straight forward chase for India as the top order faltered.

"Halfway through the chase, we still knew that we can win irrespective of the situation," Rohit said.

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