Rising Pune Supergiant beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in a thrilling contest on Thursday at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Pune rode on a brilliant knock of 84 by captain Steve Smith and quick-fire 60 by Ajinkya Rahane to chase down 185. It was a splendid all-around performance by the Pune team under the new leadership of Smith, who took over as captain from MS Dhoni.

Mumbai were 154/7 at the end of 19th over and reaching 184/8 at the end of the innings was something nobody would have bet on, given the manner in which they were losing wickets at regular intervals. But when you have a certain Hardik Pandya in your side, you should never lose hope.

Smith gave the last over to Bengal’s Ashok Dinda, who has bowled the final six balls in more than 18 IPL matches. Given the experience Dinda had, Smith would have expected him to keep a tight line and length, and not give away easy runs, in spite of conceding 27 runs without grabbing a wicket in his first three overs.

Pandya’s onslaught in the final over

Pandya smashed Dinda for three consecutive sixes in the first three balls of the over. The next two deliveries were also dispatched for a four and a six, as 28 runs came from the first five balls. Pune were stunned by the late burst. Dinda then bowled a wide delivery, giving Pandya that extra ball, in which he took another swing. However, the extra delivery was hit for a single as Mumbai wrapped up their innings at 184/8.

Pandya had clearly made amends for a below-par batting performance by his side in good batting conditions, as he smashed Dinda for 30 in the final over. Mumbai would have fancied their chances given that they never lost a match in which they have scored more than 184.

Eye on Champions Trophy

Pandya’s knock gave us a glimpse of the batting capabilities of the Baroda lad, who was often been criticised. He single-handedly changed the complexion of the game and a victory would only have made the knock sweeter. Pandya, along with captain Rohit Sharma, were recently declared fit to play after nursing injuries. While Sharma was out of action since the India-New Zealand series last year because of a leg injury, Pandya hurt his shoulder during Australia’s tour.

Pandya’s return to form is good news for Mumbai, who are hunting for their third IPL title. He is also surely eyeing a berth in the India squad for the Champions Trophy to be played in England in June. In an interview recently to Livemint, Pandya said, “I want to ensure I can be picked either as a bowler or as a specialist batsman.” He clearly is a man on a mission and he seems to be taking his fitness regime seriously as well.

A fitter and faster Pandya

“My [India] captain Virat Kohli tells me that I can eat a lot of things since I have to play in all three formats and my requirements as a player are different from his,” he said. “[Kohli] is far, far ahead of us in fitness and awareness. He sets the tone for younger players. He has shown us the value of eating on time, training on time and, most importantly, sleeping on time. Earlier, I used to bowl in the mid-130s, but now I am bowling above 140 kmph.”

Pandya also said that Rahul Dravid, who was the coach of the India A team when they toured Australia, played a role in turning his game around. “Cricket is a situational sport and one has to play according to the demands of the team, [Dravid] told me,” he said. “You just can’t say this is your natural game and shrug off your responsibility.”

Pandya had a forgettable Vijay Hazare Trophy prior to the IPL and had to prove a point in the tenth edition of the T20 league. He even got the all-important wicket of Ben Stokes, but leaked 36 runs. With 13 games to go, Pandya’s return to form with the bat was the only silver lining for Mumbai Indians. He might be one of the crucial factors that power Mumbai to the title this season and also prove to be the difference for India in England.