India vs Australia, 2nd T20I: Modest Hardik feels Natarajan should be Man of the Match after six-wicket win

Hardik Pandya, who helped India chase Australia's target of 195 successfully in the second Twenty20 International (T20I), felt pacer T. Natarajan should have been the Player of the Match. With India's six-wicket win on Sunday at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Virat Kohli's side has sealed the three-match series 2-0.

Pandya was awarded the Player of the Match for his knock of unbeaten 42 off 22 balls in the second innings. The all-rounder, who has been in form having registered two ninety-plus scores in the last four innings prior to Sunday's game, once again stepped up after the dismissals of the likes of Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shikhar Dhawan.

When the Indian bowlers were hit for over eight-an-over, 28-year-old Natarajan not only bagged two wickets but also maintained an economy of five.

"It's very simple. I like to look at the scoreboard and play so that I know which bowlers to target. I have been in these situations many times and I learnt from my mistakes in the past. My game is always around the confidence which I carry, it has that fine line where I back myself and not become overconfident. I always remember all those times when we chased big totals and it helps. In T20s you actually have more time than you think.

If we need 70-80 odd in 30 balls, I don't look at the whole thing and I break it down to 12 balls and focus more on the process than the end result. They were batting really well and we wanted to be positive and special mention to Natarajan as well. I thought he should be the Man of the Match because the bowlers struggled here and he had a really good game," added Pandya at the post-match presentation.

India now are unbeaten in as many as 11 T20I matches, which includes a no result. In terms of consecutive victories, it was India's ninth T20I win (2 vs Sri Lanka, 5 vs New Zealand, and 3 vs Australia) and all the victories have come in 2020. In the list of most consecutive wins in the T20Is, the top two sports belong to Afghanistan (12 wins: 2018-19 and 11 wins:2016-17) ahead of Pakistan and India (9 successive wins).

By chasing down Australia's target of 195, India registered their seventh successful chase of a 190-plus total in the shortest format ahead of England (5), Australia (4), West Indies (3), and South Africa (2).

The third and final T20I will also be played at the SCG and is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.