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Former Indian seamer Irfan Pathan showered praise on star all-rounder Hardik Pandya after his heroics in the first of the five T20Is against South Africa on Tuesday, December 9, in Cuttack. Pathan said it did not feel like the Baroda-born cricketer was returning from an injury.
Pandya, playing his first international match since the 2025 Asia Cup, starred with a 28-ball 59* in the Men in Blue's massive 101-run victory. He also took the vital wicket of David Miller, snaffling figures of 2-0-16-1.
Speaking in a recent video uploaded on his YouTube channel 'Irfan Pathan,' the 41-year-old discussed Pandya's innings, claiming that he dominated pace and spin alike.
"The way Hardik Pandya batted, it didn’t feel like he was coming back from injury. He looked fully in form. He looked in control for 75 to 90% and played big shots against spinners straightaway. Pandya’s strength is he goes for the big shots if the length is full. He also batted with control against pace bowling that clocked beyond 150 and his innings was the difference," Pathan said.
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Having smashed four sixes during his knock, the 32-year-old became the fourth Indian cricketer after Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Virat Kohli to hammer 100 maximums in T20I cricket.
"Surya is surely out of runs" - Irfan Pathan on Indian captain's struggles
In the same video, Pathan opined that Suryakumar Yadav must look to play the balls pitched on off-stump straight. However, he added that the veteran batter is not out of form.
"The way three wickets fell initially, Suryakumar Yadav played the ball on the off-stump to the leg side. He must give himself time to play straight and he is not entirely out of form. Surya is surely out of runs. His strength is leg side but must look to play straight and balls to the off-stump must go straight. Tilak Varma often converts his starts to bigger scores but his partnership with Axar Patel stabilised India’s innings after those three early wickets," Pathan said.
The Men in Blue will resume their battle with South Africa in the second T20I on Thursday.
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