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Hardik Pandya Shares Reasons For Backing Umran Malik

Hardik Pandya led India to a successful tournament win in the recently concluded two-match T20I series against Ireland. The Men in Blue won the second match by a mere margin of 4 runs in Dublin on Tuesday. After the second T20I, Pandya shared explained the reason for handing the ball to Umran Malik for the crucial final over.

The Jammu based seamer managed to defend 17 runs in final over, helping India whitewash Ireland. Hardik Pandya shared that he backed the young Indian speedster because he thought Malik’s pace would make it difficult for opponents to score runs.

What did Hardik Pandya say?  

Speaking with the media during his post-match presentation, the Indian skipper said, “I was trying to keep all the pressure out of my equation. I wanted to be in the present and I backed Umran. He has pace, with his pace it’s always going to be tough to get 18 runs. They played some amazing shots,. They batted very well, credit to them and credit to our bowlers for holding their nerves.”

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Malik bounced back in the second match for India after a disappointing international debut. The 22-year-old was only given one over to bowl in the rain-curtained match which saw him getting smashed for 14 runs. The Indian skipper, who was leading his team for the first time was all praises for the young speedster. Hardik Pandya also went on to praise Deepak Hooda.

The batter was awarded with the Player of the match for scoring his first ever century in national colours in the second T20I. He said, “As a child, it’s always a dream to play for your country. Leading and getting the first win was special, now winning the series is special as well. Happy for Deepak and Umran.”

Pandya also went on to speak on the likes of Sanju Samson and Dinesh Karthik deeming the wicketkeeper-batters crowd as favourites during the 2nd T20I. He said, “The crowd, their favourite boys were Dinesh and Sanju. Great experience to experience this side of the world. A lot of support comes for us, we try to entertain them and hope we did that. Thanks to everyone who supported us.”

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