Pandya admits he was under pressure in Pakistan clash

TIL Desk Sports/ Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who played a brilliant cameo of 20 runs off just six balls against Pakistan in their Champions Trophy encounter on Sunday, has admitted he was under pressure in the much anticipated, high octane clash against the arch-rivals.

“Honestly I won’t lie, pressure was there,” Pandya told ICC at Edgbaston in Birmingham after India’s 124-run win (via DLS) to kick off its Champions Trophy defence successfully at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham.

“But still at the back of my mind, I was thinking of it as a normal game because I didn’t want to take unnecessary pressure. In any game, I wouldn’t want to take unnecessary pressure on myself because that makes you do something that you are not supposed to do.”

“Even this game, I was keeping pretty normal. I was pretty calm, composed. I tried not to think of it as a big match as well, just take it as a normal game, an important game for India like any match we play. And eventually we did pretty well and won it,” he added.