They are both seamer all-rounders with a fair bit of similarity in their style and approach. For sure Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes will be playing a critical role with their all-round abilities when India and England clash in Thursday’s T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide.
Both the players have had their set of contributions for their teams so far in the ongoing World Cup. But who’s the one who appears to be better placed ahead of the last-four stage clash?
With the bat, Pandya has got 65 runs at an average of 16.25. But his contributions (37-ball 40 and run-a-ball 18) in the fifth-wicket stands with Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav against Pakistan and Zimbabwe, respectively, reflected his admirable temperament. With the ball Pandya’s impact has been far more significant as he took wickets in almost all the matches barring the game versus The Netherlands in Sydney, where he had bowled just one over.
Eight wickets in five matches with an economy rate of 7.46 certainly reflects Pandya’s utility as a bowler, which has been on the show since his comeback in this year’s IPL as captain of Gujarat Titans.
Without a doubt, the balance he provides to the line-up as an all-rounder has had a big role to play in India’s whiteball victories over the last four-and-a-half months.
“Hardik always had the gift of being able to bowl with pace, good control and move the ball where conditions allow. Currently, he’s able to make good decisions and understand what the situation demands,” Titans’ director of cricket Vikram Solanki told The Telegraph.
“He likes to keep himself calm and that comes with experience. He’s far more mature now and that has come about with the result of his captaincy, and experiencing what he went through owing to the injuries he had suffered,” Solanki added.
As for Stokes, he has picked up five wickets and scored 58 runs. Unlike his India counterpart, Stokes has played mainly Tests and ODIs since his comeback in the 2021-22 Ashes, after taking a break (since July 2021) to prioritise his mental well-being.
Having played just three T20Is leading up to this World Cup, Stokes doesn’t have muchto show for with the bat except his unbeaten 42 coming in atNo.3 in England’s nervy winover Sri Lanka that confirmed their semi-final berth.
Stokes’ economy rate (5.98)appears a tad better than Pandya’s (7.46) although he has bowled a lesser number of overs (10.2) compared to the latter's 15.
“Hardik is in better form as Ben hasn’t quite been himself in T20 cricket. That could be due to the pressure of captaincy (in Tests),” former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar feels. “Or maybe this is the new Ben Stokes, who’s focused more on managing the pressure situations.”
Overall though, neither of the two all-rounders has taken the World Cup by storm so far. But it’s not too late either.
