'I was completely....' - Sanjay Manjrekar heaps praise on Rishabh Pant-Hardik Pandya after England ODIs

Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant stood tall for India during their stiff 260-run chase versus hosts England as Rohit Sharma-led India won the three-match ODI series 2-1 on Sunday (July 17) in Manchester. After Hardik's 4/24 dismissed Jos Buttler-led England for 259 in 45.5 overs, India were in a spot of bother at 72 for 4 when Pant-Hardik joined forces.

The duo batted sensibly before Hardik took on the bowlers and allowed Pant to play calculative cricket. While Hardik fell for a 55-ball 71, Pant continued from his end and slammed his maiden ODI ton to guide India to a stunning five-wicket series win over the world champions. After the victory, many former cricketers have hailed the batting pair of Pant-Hardik.

Joining the bandwagon, Sanjay Manjrekar also heaped praise on the dynamic pair and told Sports18, "Yes, just hoping that Hardik can keep his fitness together. No issues about Rishabh Pant. What we saw in that last one day, I was completely floored by the sheer talent and ability of these two guys, temperament as well, built a long partnership and how easily, in the end, India won. Thanks to Rishabh Pant for staying there till the end. So yes, high-quality batters, and they’re going to be batting mostly at number 4 and 5 whether it’s T20 Cricket or 50 overs cricket or Pant could be opening as well. In 2019, we had a lot of issues finding a proper middle order but now we have some quality supply."

Another India's win, former Indian opener-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar had also lauded Pant-Pandya, comparing them to the legendary pair of MS Dhoni-Yuvraj Singh in white-ball formats.

Speaking onSports Tak,Gavaskar sounded optimistic of that Pant-Pandya canreplicate the success of Dhoni-Yuvraj. "It can definitely happen. The kind of sixes Yuvraj and Dhoni used to hit, the way they steadied the innings, the way they ran between the wicket, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant can be that pair for India. And just like Dhoni and Yuvraj used to hit sixes, I hope Pandya and Pant can win the hearts of cricket fans," he opined.