Twitter erupts with praise for Hardik Pandya as the 'Finisher' seals T20 series for India

With 14 needed off the last over, Hardik Pandya unleashed upon the Australian to help India clinch the T20 series by 2-0 on Sunday at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The fiery all-rounder has been India's go-to man in Australia so far, every time the Men in Blue have found themselves in a spot of bother. Not only this, but Pandya also emerged as the highest scorer for the Indian team in the ODIs. 

On Sunday, the Baroda-lad, who has been deprived of bowling due to his back injury, smashed the Aussies as guided India to a six-wicket victory. He played a brilliant knock of 42 runs off 22 balls, with two humongous sixes to seal the deal at the end, and earned himself the Man of the Match award. Twitter erupted with praise for the all-rounder as veterans and pundits jumped to applaud Pandya's heroics. Voice of Indian cricket Harsha Bhogle also went on to declare Pandya as the 'most feared finisher' in the game. Here's how Twitter reacted to Pandya's blitz: 

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The Winning Moment: 

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pandya remarked that he has been in a similar situation in past and has learnt from his mistakes. "My game is always around the confidence which I carry, it has that fine line where I back myself and not become overconfident. I always remember all those times when we chased big totals and it helps. In T20s you actually have more time than you think. If we need 70-80 odd in 30 balls, I don't look at the whole thing and I break it down to 12 balls and focus more on the process than the end result." The all-rounder also credited T Natarajan for his spectacular performance with the ball and opined that the pacer should have been awarded the Man of the Match award. 

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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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