'Just like Dhoni & Yuvraj...: Gavaskar lauds Pant-Pandya, compares duo with legendary Indian batting pair

Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya are being praised by one and all ever since India won the third and final ODI versus England, in Manchester, to claim the series 2-1. The duo got together with Men in Blue tottering at 72/4 in pursuit of 260.

India lost their famed top 3 -- captain Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli -- for cheap (at 38 for 3) before Suryakumar Yadav also followed suit, leaving India at 72 for 4. Thus, the duo steadied the ship, played sensibly, ran well between wickets and took on the bowlers one by one to take India to a stunning five-wicket win in the series decider. While Pant remained unbeaten on 125, Hardik fell for a 55-ball 71 after claiming 4/24 with the ball.

Speaking onSports Tak, former Indian opener-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on Pant-Hardik and was even optimistic of them replicating the success of legendary Indian batting pair of MS Dhoni-Yuvraj Singh. "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."

Speaking on Hardik's golden run since his comeback at the competitive level, he opined, "Hardik has made his comeback at the right time because India desperately needed an all-rounder. Now they have both Pandya and Jadeja who can bat as well as bowl ten overs. You look at teams who won world championships in 1983, 1985, 2011 and 2013, all had good all-rounders."