New Zealand vs India 2020: Manish Pandey aims a 5-0 whitewash against the Kiwis, expresses his delight as he is playing as India's new finisher
Middle-order batsman Manish Pandey has expressed that India will push for a 5-0 whitewash against New Zealand in the fifth and final T20I, which will take place in Mount Manganui on Sunday. Pandey also talked about how he shifted his role as a finisher down the order intending to continue his momentum in the upcoming days.
Batting at number 6, Manish Pandey scored a brilliant 50 off 36 balls under pressure taking the team from 88/6 to a decent total of 165/8. In reply, New Zealand managed to reach 165 in their 20 overs for a second-successive tie among the two teams. However, the men in blue edged the Kiwis in the Super Over, gaining 4-0 lead over them.
Depicting the team's fighting spirit in tough situations, the 30-year-old Manish Pandey at the press conference, said how the team wants to make it 5-0 versus New Zealand - a feat which India is yet to achieve against the latter.
It has been our motto, not only for these two matches, that till the time the last ball is bowled, we won't give up any match. If you play with that intent you will get matches like these where you might get a Super Over, and you win from there.
And now we have an opportunity to make it 5-0 and it will be really amazing to do that. Come the fifth match, we will look to go 5-0 up, that is our plan. Nobody has done it before and especially India has not done it before. So, I think it will be a great start to do that.
India pulled off another breathtaking win in the Super Over, where they chased down 13 runs with skipper Virat Kohli hitting the final delivery for a boundary with a pull shot. On the other hand, New Zealand got carried away with their Super Over misery as they lost their sixth consecutive T20 in a row.
When quizzed if Indian players were confident about pulling off another victory, Pandey answered how they were ready for the challenge and also praised Shardul Thakur's exceptional final over, taking four wickets to push New Zealand for another tie.
In the middle, it looked like we were a little easy on ourselves. But since it had happened the last game, we thought we had to bowl good balls and it is possible we push it to a Super Over. And then, as the balls went by and we reached the last two balls, we were certain that this would go to Super Over.
We were ready for it in the back of our mind. We have very good bowlers and Shardul (Thakur) bowled a very good last over. For his effort, he deserved it that the game went into a Super Over.
India's fielding came under question when Shardul Thakur missed a chance to run out Colin Munro, who was the highest scorer for the Kiwis with 64 runs. The side also dropped two catches of Tim Seifert in two consecutive deliveries, where the wicket-keeper went on to score 57 off 39 balls.
Referring to the winds of Wellington, Pandey depicted that the team needed more practice to adopt such conditions to make it easier in such matches.
It becomes difficult to take high catches when there is stiff breeze or wind as the ball starts moving when coming down. Even if you set yourself nicely, the ball still moves around. We need to practice more so that it becomes easier in matches. It's up to the individual how he prepares himself and sets himself.
Having played down the order for a while, including India's recent home season, Pandey has adjusted his new role as a finisher. He expressed how he shifted his position as a middle-order batsman by saying how it is difficult to bat lower the order with the pressure of hitting every delivery.
I have no choice. I have to be good with it. I have to start preparing my mind as a no. 6 batsman because normally I bat up the order, no. 3 or no.4. Here with the competition up the top, you just have to wait for your chances.
Today was the opportunity and I've been preparing myself as to how to bat at no. 6 and what kind of shots I can play, what kind of bowlers, and how many overs are left. It's not an easy position to bat at no. 6, where you know you are the last main batsman and you have to play with the bowlers if anything happens up the top. That's what happened today. I was pretty clear about my role.
The right-handed batsman signed off by expressing his contentment with a newly assigned role as he hopes to perform well in the upcoming fixtures.
Today, I had opportunity to bat a little early. Not too much to contribute the last couple of games, but today was my opportunity and I thought if I could use it to my advantage, that will be great for me and my side. Quite happy to be there in this position.