Hardik Pandya – a 21-year-old boy from Baroda who is only into his second season of professional cricket career with six first-class games under his belt. In his first IPL season, with six matches to his name, the boy has now had cricket followers around the world skim through cricket websites looking for information on him.

Everything about Hardik oozes confidence. He walks in to bat in a high-pressure IPL game, takes stance against some of the most accomplished bowlers in the world and shows that he belongs there. He talks in a deep baritone voice and with an unapologetic smile on his face, tells you that nervousness is not in his system.

There is little wonder then, that this rough diamond picked up by Mumbai Indians has become an instant hit with their head coach, Ricky Ponting. Perhaps, the tough and belligerent Aussie sees a bit of himself in this young lad.

About a month back, Hardik gave the world a glimpse of his batting and fearlessness when he took MI over the 200 hurdle with a six-ball 16 in Bengaluru. In the end, MI beat RCB by 18 runs. More recently, the Baroda-lad breezed his way to an 8-ball 21, leading his team to a win against CSK in their own backyard. It was then that Ponting told iplt20.com how he adored this guy and would like to work with him for a long time.

That was just the trailer. The main show came this Thursday when Hardik walked in to bat in the 12th over with the score on 79 for 4 and returned unbeaten after taking MI to 171 for 4. His score: 61 off 31 balls, eight 4s and two 6s. MI beat KKR by five runs and stayed alive in the tournament. Man of the Match: Hardik Pandya.

His chat with iplt20.com after the match was a reflection of his character. Here is what Hardik said about his performances and his new mentor, Ricky Thomas Ponting.

This is the second blinder you have played with the bat – this is turning out to be a dream maiden IPL season for you.

Definitely! This knock was very special for me. I had a word with Ricky (Ponting) and (Kieron) Pollard before I started my innings and they told me to just take my time because I can make up later in the innings.

Is the word ‘nervousness’ in your dictionary at all?

To be very honest, I don’t get nervous a lot. I am a happy and positive person by nature and I just don’t feel tensed that often. It is a characteristic that has boded well for me so far in the season.

You went in to bat in the 12th over at 79 for 4. What were the instructions from the change room?

Just be calm. We all knew that Pollard and I can smash the ball hard once we are set. We kept the plan very simple. Just stay at the wicket and score off whatever opportunity we get.

Not often do we see Pollard watching from the other end as his partner is smashing everything. It happened today. What did the big man tell you?

He was full of praise and positivity. The big man has a bigger heart. He just asked me to play according to the situation and that is what we did. He had to stay till the end and so I took the charge. He can hit almost any kind of delivery in the death overs and so I accelerated my innings earlier to make the most of the overs before the death overs started.

You went particularly ballistic against the pacers – Umesh Yadav and Andre Russell.

On this wicket the spinners were getting difficult for me to put away for runs. I had to target the pacers because Narine, Shakib and Piyush were bowling really well. It was easier to go big against the fast bowlers because we could use their pace rather than putting in too much force into the shots.

Of all the lovely shots you played today, was there any particular one that you enjoyed the most?

I enjoyed hitting the pull shot for six that got me my fifty. I have been working on that shot quite regularly with Ricky – he was the master of that shot. It felt amazing to get my first IPL fifty with that shot.

We saw you looking heavenwards with your hands folded when Gautam Gambhir got out immediately after you dropped his catch.

Oh, it was such a relief. I was thanking god he got out bowled off the very next delivery. Gambhir is a very dangerous batsman and he could have chased the target quite easily. I was so very relieved that the drop didn’t prove to be expensive.

After your game in Chennai Ricky Ponting spoke a lot about you saying he has grown really close to you. Could you talk a bit about the relationship you have built with him?

He is very friendly with me and we really enjoy each other’s company in whatever we do. I felt really good when he said those things about me. His words mean a lot to me.

What is the best advice he has given you so far?

The best advice he has given me is, ‘You need to trust yourself and maintain your shape’. I sometimes have a tendency to hit the ball very hard. He told me that if I just maintain my shape I can hit the ball far. That is exactly what I did today – I did not go too hard on the ball but used the pace and bounce of the bowler to get my boundaries.

Do you talk a lot to him about batting?

Yes, I do. In fact, before I went in to bat today, I asked him to just sit beside me for five minutes. All he said was, ‘Take your time, feel free and enjoy your game. If you do that, you will hit them big’. They were very simple words but having him by my side and telling me those things put me at ease.