Hardik Pandya could be India's permanent choice for No. 4 in ODIs: Virat Kohli

Bengaluru, Sep 29: Indian skipper Virat Kohli hailed young middle-order batsman Hardik Pandya for his consistently good performance in the series against Australia.

Match scorecard; Match Highlights

The Indian skipper surprised all with his decision to promote the right-handed batsman in the fourth ODI as well and the latter didn't disappoint him either.

However, India lost the match chasing a mammoth 335 run target but Kohli seemed content with the level of maturity showed by the 23-year-old batting all-rounder.

Pandya scored 41 off 40 deliveries as he smashed three mighty sixes and a boundary during his stay at the crease. Pandya, particularly, targetted spinner Adam Zampa in his knock - which is why he was promoted up in the order in the first place.

Pandya has managed 200 runs or more in an ODI series for the first time - his tally being 222 (ave.55.50) in four innings, including two fifties.

Impressed with the Baroda-lad's two back-to-back performances at No. 4, Kohli dropped a major hint that the former might even be a regular batsman at this position.

"The plan to promote Hardik was to go after the spinner and get the quicks to come early into the game. He did that in Indore and he did it in this game. Hardik has got a solid defence and good technique. He is not just a slogger. If he gains more confidence and if he can understand how to take the game till the end, he might be a regular at that spot," Kohli said at the post-match presentation after India lost the match by 21 runs.

Kohli also lauded Kedar Jadhav and his 78-run stand with Pandya. The skipper said had these two added 40-50 runs more, the hosts would have easily won the game.

"Australia's bowling, in the end, was very good. They got breakthroughs at the right times and that stopped our momentum, especially when Kedar and Hardik were batting well. If they had put on 40-50 more, it would have been ideal for us," he said further.

At a time when experts are opining that Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni or Ajinkya Rahane should bat at No. 4, Pandya's name comes as a surprise.