"He looks fit enough to go through 4 overs" - India's batting coach delighted with Hardik Pandya's returns against Ireland in T20 World Cup

Team India's batting coach Vikram Rathour is delighted to see all-rounder Hardik Pandya bowl full throttle against Ireland during their T20 World Cup clash in New York on Wednesday, June 5. Hardik bowled his full quota of four overs, picking up fine figures of 3/27.

Rathour shed light on how Hardik's pace has been on the higher side of 130s and is impressed with the all-rounder's accuracy. He scalped the wickets of Lorcan Tucker, Curtis Campher and Mark Adair.

Speaking to the reporters after the game, here's what Vikram Rathour had to say about Hardik Pandya:

"Hardik looked really good. Hardik has been--I mean, even in the practice game. He's been bowling really well. He looks fit enough to go through four overs and he's been bowling with some pace and some accuracy. So yeah, it's great."

Hardik, during the mid-innings break, opened up on his fine spell to the host broadcaster and shed light on how he focused on pitching the ball up more often than just hitting back of a length. He enjoyed the wicket of Tucker as he got the ball to nip back off the seam and beat the batter's defense to hit the middle stump.

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Harbhajan Singh on Hardik Pandya's spell

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh claimed that Hardik Pandya's spell was the turning point of the game. He shed light on how great a balance Hardik gives to Team India when he bowls so well as a fourth seamer.

Here's what Harbhajan told Star Sports after India's win:

"Hardik's spell broke the back of the opposition. When you have a fourth seamer who bowls at the speeds of 135-140 kmph in these conditions where there is so much help for the quicks, I think Team India has an edge with Hardik Pandya."

With just 216 runs and 11 wickets at an economy rate of 10.75, Hardik had a pretty poor IPL 2024 season as an all-rounder. However, he has looked good with the ball for India so far in the T20 World Cup and also has a handy 40 under his belt with the bat in the warm-up game against Bangladesh.