Of late, Hardik Pandya has been in a rich vein of form both with bat and ball, having led the debutants Gujarat Titans (GT) to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) last month. On Friday, he played a crucial role in India's 82-run triumph over South Africa in the fourth T20I in Rajkot after stitching together a 65-run partnership with Man of the Match Dinesh Karthik. Their stand came after the home team was in trouble at 81/4 in 13 overs. Hardik Pandya himself made 46 off 31 deliveries while Dinesh Karthik slammed a blistering 55 in 27 balls to take India to a match-winning total of 169/6. In response, South Africa's batting crashed like nine-pins as they were bowled out for a paltry 87, giving India a massive 82-run win. In the bowling department, Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal were the chief tormentors, having picked up four and two wickets each. But it was Hardik Pandya's stand with Dinesh Karthik that had laid the foundation of Team India's victory at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium. As India leveled the series with some help from Hardik Pandya, the ace all-rounder revealed a piece of advice from former India captain MS Dhoni which changed him as a cricketer.
In-flight insightful conversation 👌
Learning from the great @msdhoni 👍
Being an inspiration 👏DO NOT MISS as @hardikpandya7 & @DineshKarthik chat after #TeamIndia's win in Rajkot. 😎 😎 – By @28anand
Full interview 📽️👇 #INDvSA | @Paytmhttps://t.co/R6sPJK68Gy pic.twitter.com/wx1o9dOPNB
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 18, 2022
For Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni is a brother, friend, family, and mentor who has always stood by him through thick and thin.
“Obviously Mahi bhai has played a big role in my life. He is a dear brother, a dear friend, family to me. So, for me, I have learnt a lot of good of things from him. For me it was more about being individually strong which I'm really proud of myself as well, how I have been able to manage all the parts,” Hardik Pandya had said about MS Dhoni during the IPL.
Now Hardik Pandya has once again credited MS Dhoni for shaping his career.
“For me genuinely nothing changes because I play the situation, I play the symbol which is there on my chest. The only thing which I want to get better with time, it's about how…smoothness and how frequently I can do the same thing which I did for Gujarat Titans and for India as well,” Hardik Pandya told his India teammate Dinesh Karthik in a video uploaded on the BCCI website.
“In my early days, I asked Mahi bhai one question. I asked him how he gets away from pressure, and he gave me some very simple advice — ‘stop thinking about your own score and start thinking about what your team requires'. From very early, that lesson has stuck to my mind and helped me become the kind of player I am now,” Hardik Pandya added.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya hailed Dinesh Karthik's heroics in the match in Rajkot as the 37-year-old became the oldest Indian batter to score a half-century in T20Is.
Delivering a masterful performance, Dinesh Karthik went on the rampage from the outset as he clobbered the Proteas bowlers all over the park during his scintillating knock of 55 off 27 balls.
“I need to tell you this, Genuinely I want to tell you this, you have given a lot of inspiration to many guys in their life. I remember the conversation you were having when you were not in the scheme of things, a lot of people counted you out,” Hardik Pandya told Dinesh Karthik.
“I remember those conversations. You told me then that my goal is to play for India again and the goal is to play this World Cup, I am going to give it my everything, and seeing you achieve that is very inspirational. A lot of people are going to learn new things. Well done my brother, very proud of you,” he stated.
Dinesh Karthik, on the other hand, said that he was happy with his current form but being on the flight for Australia for the T20 World Cup Down Under was his priority.
Dinesh Karthik further disclosed that it was his dream to win a World Cup for India and he wanted to do it in Australia later this year.
“Look, I was very bull-headed that I want to play this World Cup. It is very important in my life, I have been around for so long. I know what it feels to be dropped. I also know how valuable it is to play for Team India. I wanted to do something special. Luckily, RCB gave me that platform and the role I really enjoyed doing at the backend. I practiced for it. Now that I am here, I want to be that guy who can help India win those tough games. I know how tough it is to be part of this team. The vibe is very different,” Karthik said.
“As you remember Hardik, on the flight from Vizag to Rajkot, we had a conversation about how to counter certain situations. As a middle-order batter you need to be aware of who you can target, batting with you is very comfortable. I know what to expect, what to say.
“Initially, we do not talk much but as the partnership progresses, there is a bit more fun when we bat. It was an important innings for us, being 2-1 down and they dominated in the first 10-12 overs. They put us under a lot of pressure, it was a hard wicket to bat on. So I thought, us putting pressure back on them by the way we batted was very important,” the 37-year-old cricketer concluded.
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