Pandya, India’s all-round match-winner

DUBAI: With his appetite for wickets and hard-hitting batting, Hardik Pandya has come back from controversies and injuries to become India’s go-to all-rounder ahead of this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.

Pandya stood calm with an unbeaten 33 and hit the winning six in the final over of a tense pursuit of 148 to beat arch-rivals Pakistan and begin the Asia Cup T20 tournament on a high on Sunday.

With the ball in hand earlier, he took 3-25 as he and fellow pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar shared seven wickets to set up the victory chase at a packed Dubai International Stadium. The Indian Express newspaper called him the “New cool king in town” and veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted there are “few better than him in this format”. Pandya’s performance comes as no surprise after he returned from a back injury to lead Indian Premier League debutants Gujarat Titans to a fairytale title in May.

The 28-year-old flamboyant cricketer who loves his tattoos and expensive watches, had once said he likes to live life “kingsize”. From the western state of Gujarat, Pandya was in 2019 suspended for sexist comments on a TV show and written off as a brash cricketer.

But he has defied critics with his on-field performances to reward the faith shown in him by the India team management. “Grateful that we are getting this opportunity and we are able to do this because our process is just not for this but for the upcoming World Cup,” Pandya told India’s cricket board website after the five-wicket win.