Hardik Pandya confident ‘process-driven’ India will succeed soon

(FASTNEWS | INDIA) – Hardik Pandya wasn’t nonplussed ending up on the losing side despite scoring an unbeaten 71 (30b) to take India to a formidable total at the PCA stadium here on Tuesday.

The action-packed contest of more than three hours in which the scales tilted from one side to the other frequently was summed up in just a few words: “You’ve got to give credit to them. They played some good cricket, and maybe we couldn’t execute our plans. They played some good shots, that’s it.”

Even with three overs to go for the end of the game, there was no clear winner. Australia needed 40 runs and had lost five wickets. Matthew Wade and Tim David, then, got stuck into Harshal Patel, who gave away 22 runs in the 18th.

Hardik wasn’t keen to identify the turning point of the game. “You can’t pinpoint anything. Their overs also went for 24-25 runs (the most expensive over went for 21 runs). These things don’t matter. It’s a game, a bilateral series. We’ve got the next two games, and we’ll try to get better,” he said.

The four-wicket defeat against Australia was yet another defeat against a strong team in recent months. Hardik was confident that the team will bounce back.

“As a team we want to get better. Losing teaches you a lot and I think we all are aware of the areas we can get better at. We’re a more process-driven team, and by the time the World Cup comes we’ll make sure that we focus on our process and get better. I’m confident of the guys; they’ve done it in the past,” Hardik said.

Commenting on his own game, he said he had learnt to stay “neutral” in successes as well as failures and that he aimed to be a step ahead of the opposition every time.

“I don’t make a big deal out of any of my performances or failures. I’ve scored zeroes as well, but I’ve stayed neutral and now as well for me it’s important that I focus on the next game and make sure that I’m ready for something new which [the opposition] my target. I should be one step ahead.”