Gautam Gambhir lauds Hardik Pandya's finishing abilities after his heroics in 2nd T20I

Gautam Gambhir has heaped praise on Hardik Pandya for finishing the game for India with the bat in the second T20I against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday night. Hardik's quickfire knock in the death overs helped India take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

'Very few players like Pandya': Gautam Gambhir 

“Hardik Pandya has played these kinds of innings in the Indian Premier League, and when you come into international cricket on the back of good innings in the IPL, then your confidence is very high. Pandya has played innings like these for Mumbai Indians. So, in that sense, he did not do anything new on Sunday,” said Gambhir while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.

“There are very few players like Hardik Pandya, there were Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni earlier and there is Glenn Maxwell now, they are capable of chasing any total or any target. Even if you need 20-25 runs in the last over, these players make you believe that they can score it,” the 2011 World Cup winner added.

Pandya finishes it off in style

Chasing a stiff target of 195, India had to attack right from the word 'Go' and that is exactly what openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan had done in the Powerplay overs. Dhawan scored a fine half-century before he was dismissed for 52. Skipper Virat Kohli then took care of the proceedings and brought the visitors back in the hunt with a solid knock of a 24-ball 50 before a brilliant catch from his opposite number Matthew Wade behind the stumps sent him back just when it appeared that he would single-handedly get the job done.

Enter Hardik Pandya and he showed why he is Team India's most bankable power-hitter as he took the Australian bowlers to the cleaners. He hit two big sixes in the final over as the Men In Blue crossed the finish line by six wickets and a couple of balls to spare. The Baroda cricketer remained unbeaten on a 42 (22) at a strike rate of nearly 191 including three boundaries and two maximums.

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Can India register a clean sweep?

The Virat Kohli-led side would be hoping to register a clean sweep by winning Tuesday's dead rubber while the hosts would be looking to salvage pride by managing a consolation win. 

In case Kohli & Co. do manage to win the contest, they will be whitewashing the Aussies in their own backyard for the second time after the 2015/16 season where the Men In Blue under the charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni had whitewashed the Aussies 3-0. Kohli on the other had would be eager to equal his predecessor's record and find a name in history books by achieving this unique feat. 

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