Indore, Sep 24 - Captain Virat Kohli praised Hardik Pandya, describing the Baroda all-rounder as a "star" as he helped India defeat Australia by five wickets to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match One-Day International (ODI) cricket series here on Sunday.
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\r\nRight-hander Pandya, promoted to No.4, cracked a match-winning 78 off 72 deliveries as India chased down Australia's total of 293\/6 with 2.1 overs to spare.
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\r\nPandya, now a regular for India in all the three formats, had also ended Australia's opening partnership of 70 runs between David Warner (42) and Aaron Finch (124).
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\r\nThe Baroda man had also scored 83 in a match-saving knock in the first ODI. He also has five wickets in the series so far.
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\r\n"He's a star. He bowls, bats and fields as well. He is the guy we were looking for in a long time. He gives us great balance in the squad," Kohli said of the 23-year-old at the post-match presentation ceremony.
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\r\n"He is a great asset for Indian cricket. He never doubts himself. He has great self-belief and likes challenging himself," Kohli said.
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\r\nAsked about the idea behind promoting the right-hander Pandya ahead of the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Manish Pandey, Kohli said: "His promotion today was (head coach) Ravi (Shastri) Bhai's thought. He felt we needed to attack the spinner (Ashton Agar) to keep him out of the game."
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\r\nMan-of-the-Match Pandya said: It feels good, but I couldn't finish the match. I saw the promotion as an opportunity than a surprise. I wanted to target the left-arm spinner.
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\r\n"When I got the sixes, I knew that I can play a few dot balls as well. I try to contribute in every way I can. I want to get better, there's always scope for improvement."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
IANS<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2017\/09\/kohli1.jpg", "alt_img": "virat kohli", "alt_title": "india-australia indore odi", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "Hardik Pandya is a star, says Virat Kohli after series win over Australia", "seo_desc": "Check what Indian Captain Virat Kohli said after series win over Australia on Cricketnmore.com", "seo_keywords": "Virat Kohli, Australia tour of India 2017", "tag": "", "tagging": "Virat Kohli,Australia tour of India 2017,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "0", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "hardik-pandya-is-a-star-says-virat-kohli-after-series-win-over-australia", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "1723", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "0", "auto_link": "0", "created": "2017-09-25 00:31:04", "updated": "2017-09-25 17:53:05", "img_from": "", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": null, "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2017-09-25 00:31:04", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2017-09-25 00:31:04", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/hardik-pandya-is-a-star-says-virat-kohli-after-series-win-over-australia-31148" }