India vs Australia, 3rd ODI: Been working really hard to make sure I play for my country, says Hardik Pandya
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya hit his highest ODI score of 92 on Wednesday and led a recovery for India with Ravindra Jadeja with a record 6th wicket partnership of 150 runs
In Short
- Hardik Pandya went on to score 92 runs in 76 balls, his highest-score in ODI cricket
- Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja stitched together a 150-run partnership in 18 overs
- They scored 76 runs in the last 5 overs and got India to a total of 302
India finally ended their 5-match losing streak in ODI cricket with a 13-run win against Australia in Canberra on Wednesday.
It was a thriller at the Manuka Oval that went on until the final over of the innings when Jasprit Bumrah trapped Adam Zampa to give India the win.
A few overs before that when Glenn Maxwell was batting, it looked like Australia were cruising to their 3rd consecutive win against India.
Besides some brilliant bowling performances from Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and debutant T Natarajan, the win was essentially set-up by the record 6th wicket partnership for India against Australia. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja stitched together a 150-run partnership in 18 overs to take India to a par score of 302.
The two all-rounders came together when India were struggling at 152/5 in 32 overs and gave India the acceleration that they needed at the end of their innings. They scored 76 runs in the last 5 overs.
Hardik Pandya went on to score 92 runs in 76 balls, his highest-score in ODI cricket. He went on to win the Man-of-the-Match performance for his brilliant batting skills, and said that he has been working hard to make sure that he plays for India.
Very happy with my performance in ODI series, says Pandya
"It's fantastic (the win). I’ve been working really hard to make sure I play for my country, so I'm really happy to be playing this series,” Pandya said in the post-match interview.
He further added that playing against Australia has always been a challenge and one has to have the ‘extra edge’ to do well against them.
“You need to be on your toes to compete against Australia. I feel that you always have that extra edge in you when you play against Australia, you want to face up to that challenge,” he said.
Pandya also said that it was a good match to give opportunity to some youngsters and the debutant T Natarajan and praised the Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer for his achievement.
“Natarajan is quite a story, quite an inspiration with the background he's come from,” Pandya said.
India will next be up against Australia in the first T20I at the Manuka Oval on Friday.