Hardik Pandya can clear any ground in the world, believes Ravi Shastri

Pandya has emerged as one of the most important figures in India’s six-hitting revolution that was started with Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh in the last decade. The Baroda youngster has delivered with the bat superbly to bail the side out of precarious situations time and again with complete disdain towards the bowlers, which makes him a vital weapon in Virat Kohli’s team. His ability to diffuse the pressure with big hits has triggered a lot of headaches in the opposition camp and Australian spinners got the first-hand experience of the same in the first and second ODI. 

That prompted Ravi Shastri to promote him to the No 4 position in the third ODI in Indore, where he scored 78 runs in a winning cause and in the next game in Bengaluru, managed to score 41 in a losing cause. Asked about the move, Shastri said, "He (Hardik) is a dangerous guy. He can be a floater in the batting order - a tremendous striker of the ball, especially when he hits spinners. I have not seen too many players strike against spinners like that. Yuvraj Singh in his heyday may be. This guy can clear any ground in the world, be it the second ball, the third ball. It's the exuberance of youth."

The Indian team has been playing a ruthless brand of cricket, never lifting their foot off the pedal that resulted in India winning a sixth consecutive bilateral ODI series yesterday. Under Shastri’s guidance, this is the second consecutive ODI series victory for team India. The former Indian all-rounder seems to be excited by the current form and called for the same relentless approach from the team every time they stepped onto the field. The Indian coach was also full of praise for Rohit Sharma for his commendable 125-run innings that secured India the top spot on the ODI rankings.

"If you have got to be a good team, you have to be relentless. You have got to repeat what you did on Tuesday on Friday, and then on Sunday, and then on Tuesday again," said Shastri.

"We saved best batting for the last. It wasn't an easy track to bat on and the 'hitman' (Rohit's nickname in the Indian dressing room) made it look so easy. It was a treat to the eye. The way the guys showed character once again when Australia were 60 for no loss. We were staring at 275-280 but all the bowlers chipped in and got team right back in the match."