The way Hardik Pandya has stayed calm under pressure is admirable, says JP Duminy
JP Duminy has credited Mumbai Indians’ win against Kolkata Knight Riders last Sunday to the brilliant exhibition by Hardik Pandya in “pressure-moment”. The South African all-rounder also stated that KKR would want to come back stronger in the second game on Wednesday and MI need to stay sharp.
Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya played a significant role in paving the way for victory on Sunday against Kolkata Knight Riders. When Mumbai Indians had lost momentum, his unbeaten 20-ball 35 came at the right moment to make up for the sloppy start by Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis. Pandya’s exceptional bowling was also a major factor taking into account his 2/19 in four overs that put him at the top of the bowling charts to claim the Purple cap for most wickets.
Jean-Paul Duminy was all praises for the young cricketer and termed him as a “pressure moment” player, who is much needed to execute his skills to the best of his ability at this stage of the tournament.
“Those are type of players that we need especially at this time of the tournament, where you kind of refer to them as pressure players or pressure moments (player) and you like those pressure moment players to step up and execute their skills to the best of their ability," he said, reported IANS.
“He has been exceptional to watch. I have played against him a few times and now I have the opportunity to play with him. He is an exceptional talent and one of those characters who backs himself in pressure moments,” he added.
Pandya delivered in the first innings by hitting four boundaries and a six in the closing stages, which were instrumental in pushing the run-score over 180. He slammed a wide delivery over the covers and another leg-side bound delivery whilst facing KKR’s Prasidh Krishna in the last over. His bowling also remained a spectacle, wherein he put up a tight net on KKR batsmen, especially in the 18th over of the game.
"I think the way he has executed is exceptional but the way he has stayed calm under pressure and had the same sort of demeanor throughout success or failure has been great to see and admirable in my point of view for most of India
“What's been great about our team is that we recognized that we need to take the responsibility and change the fortunes around. The manner in which we have played our cricket in the few days epitomized the brand of cricket we play and that's the aggressive one. We take the bull by the horns. We obviously want to try and win every game from here on," Duminy said.
Mumbai Indians have had a slow start but have eventually picked up the pace over the last two matches. Currently placed fifth on the table with 8 points from 10 games, Duminy reported that the team would put up a strong fight in the four games to be played. The 13-run win against KKR on Sunday really gives them an edge for the rest of the season. Mumbai have won 17 out of 21 times against KKR in all their encounters.
“We can't be living in the past or past success. We want to make sure what challenge lies in front of us. KKR would like to want to come back fighting. Also in a position where they want to win. We will want to make sure we are smart, clinical in executing the skills,” he added.
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