Hardik Pandya ready to contribute for India in any batting position

Hardik Pandya was batting at No.4 in the Indian batting line-up for the first time. In the Chennai ODI, he blasted 83 batting at number seven to change the course of the match. In Kolkata, he again batted at No.7 and shared a vital 35-run stand with Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

In Indore, he was promoted to No.4 after Rohit Sharma (71) and Ajinkya Rahane (70) had notched up a magnificent 139-run stand for the opening wicket. Pandya’s promotion was seen as a move to tackle spin in the middle overs and it paid off as his magnificent 78 helped India win the third ODI by five wickets to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Pandya said, “It does not make any difference where I bat. Rather than seeing this as a challenge, I see this as an opportunity to do something nice for the team. When I was told I was going to go out to bat next, I was happy. This is the first time I played so many balls, so it was great.”