Former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu opined that Hardik Pandya could placed a little more faith in Dhruv Jurel during India’s unsuccessful run-chase in IND vs ENG 3rd T20I. The Men in Blue were handed a 26-run defeat by England in Rajkot on Tuesday. Hardik, who managed to score 40 off 35 deliveries, failed to get India across the line and came under fire for wasting deliveries and playing a slow-paced knock.
Hardik should have shown confidence in Jurel: Rayudu
Speaking on Star Sports, Rayudu heaped praise on Hardik’s knock, dubbing it as a good performance given that wickets were falling on the other end. However, he reckoned that the all-rounder could have shown a little more faith in Jurel during the run-chase. It is pertinent to point out that Jurel was sent to bat way down the order when the game had already slipped out of India’s hands. To add to the misery, Hardik’s slow-paced knock compounded India’s woes.
“It was a good performance because batting wasn’t that easy and wickets were falling from the other end. So he paced his innings well. However, when the finishing touch was required to be given, he could have shown a little faith in Dhruv Jurel,” Rayudu opined.
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“Even if 25 had been required in the last over, Hardik has the ability to hit that. So I feel if he had shown a little more confidence in Dhruv Jurel, the game might have been closer. However, the way he paced his innings was very heartening,” Rayudu observed.
Following a poor show from India’s top-order once again, the pressure was on Pandya in the run-chase. Between the 9th and 16th over, India only managed to score 40 runs, with Pandya and Sundar struggling to get going. Further, the all-rounder drew the ire of fans for not giving a chance to Jurel to finish the match while taking it upon himself to get India across the line. He eventually was dismissed on the first delivery of the 19th over, bringing the curtains down on India’s run-chase.
