“When I saw the left-arm spinner, I knew that I could go for it,” Pandya said in a post-match interview. “It’s all about backing yourself. I always feel that in cricket, you need to back yourself and be confident. Once you are confident, you take the right decision and eventually that pays off.”

The Indian all-rounder smashed 19 runs in the last over courtesy of three huge sixes that did most of the damage towards the end. Pandya's dazzling stint in the last over helped India get to a colossal total of 323 in 48 overs. He further revealed that he was unknown to the fact that he would be going out to bat until the 46th over.

Later on in the match, Pandya showed why his all-round ability is held in such high regard in India as he claimed two wickets, including that of the Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, whilst giving away just 43 runs in the eight overs he bowled. The right-arm medium pacer troubled the Pakistan batsmen by varying his pace and was a constant thorn in their path. 

Pandya has become a synonymous figure in Indian team's lineup and is considered to be the fifth bowler in the bowling attack after the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja. However, the right-hand batsman showed no signs of nervousness on the question of his place in the Indian team.

“Obviously, with the score they were chasing, I always knew that not just me, they are going to charge every bowler,” he explained. “We had to back ourselves and bowl the right areas which we did, and that’s why we got the wickets. That always pays off. If you bowl the right areas, the hard lengths, it pays. I was only focussing on what I can do and not what the batsmen can do. That always helps.”