Former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener believes that Hardik Pandya has the makings to develop into a fantastic all-round asset for India. He praised the Indian’s positive approach and said that he should be nurtured by the seniors.
Pandya scored 93 off 95 balls and took 2-27 in the Proteas’ second innings to single-handedly keep India in contention on day two of the first Test in CapeTown.
“I thought his knock in India’s first innings was fantastic. His batting was excellent in the way he reversed pressure and put it back on South Africa. He is going to be fantastic for India. He is still developing and I think if he could add another yard of pace to his bowling, he would become a truly amazing all-rounder,” Klusener told PTI.
In a short span of time in international cricket, Pandya has established himself as a regular in the team. His record in limited-overs cricket has been excellent with both the bat and the ball. In Tests, he now has a century and two fifties.
“All the signs are there that he is developing into a fantastic all-round prospect. Sure, he is bound to fail a few times the way he plays, but it is better to encourage that positive approach than reel him in.
“So, he is in good company, whether he plays for Mumbai Indians in IPL or in this Indian team, he is surrounded by a lot of good people. It is their responsibility to nurture him,” he added.
Pandya’s heroics, although commendable, couldn’t save India from a disappointing loss at Newlands. Despite triggering a South African collapse in the second innings, the visitors failed to chase down the target of 208 runs.
Klusner said that Pandya’s approach should be one of the lessons to be learnt from the defeat in the series opener.
“India can take a lot of learning from that first Test loss. It could have been a lot worse to be honest if Pandya didn’t play that excellent knock and scored those 90-odd runs. I think that is a learning point for India in how they can turn this around. They need to be pro-active and take the pacers’ challenge head on,” he added.
The former all-rounder was full of praise for the Indian pace-bowling unit.
“When you compare them to South Africa’s pace attack, they do lack a bit of pace, bowling in the mid-130s. But what I found remarkable was that they immediately hit the perfect length for South African conditions. It was similar to the lengths Philander was bowling.
“In the past, we have seen Indian pacers come here and get carried away with bounce and carry. This time they have obviously spoken about bowling fuller lengths and it was excellent to see them executing their plans very well,” he said.
When asked about how the Indian batsmen should play Philander going ahead, the Zimbabwean batting coach said, “To a bowler of that pace, you have to stand out of the crease and force him to alter his lengths.
“You need to stand at least half a meter outside the crease, if not a full meter, and force Vernon Philander to bowl shorter lengths at you. You have to take the game to him and be proactive. If you stay in your crease and try to play him, you will be in trouble all day.”
However, he also said that he doesn’t see Virat Kohli and Co winning the series unless the batsmen step up. India has won only two out of 18 Tests they have played in South Africa.
“I will be honest with you. I don’t see India winning this Test series. I don’t see them winning two Tests on the bounce. Maybe they can win and draw. Coming from 1-0 down, 1-1 will be a good result for them. But to do that, they need to work to a plan.
“South Africa are a good team with good pacers. India’s only chance is if they can get a big score on the board,” Klusener said.
With inputs from PTI
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