On Kapil Dev's birthday, Hardik Pandya presents him with his best gift

October 17th 1994 is a day not many of us would remember. Maybe some die-hard Anil Kumble fans might, since it was his 23rd birthday.

But this day is significant from Indian cricket's point of view since it was the last time Kapil Dev wore the India jersey, against the West Indies at Faridabad.

It was the end of one of the great careers in Indian cricket and one which had provided them their first truly world-class all-rounder.

Maybe someone reading this from another era might come up to me and keep an axe against my neck for not counting Vinoo Mankad as one, but those who saw Kapil play will say he was almost unmatchable.

Since then, though, India have found a few batting (Sunil Gavaskar-Sachin Tendulkar-Virat Kohli (possibly)), and bowling successors (Javagal Srinath- Zaheer Khan).

But in 23 years, no one has quite been able to replicate the inspiring acts that Kapil Dev did on numerable occasions, consistently.

However, now a glimmer of hope seems to be emerging. A vibrant young man is pleading to be noticed and recognised in his own homogenous way.

Hardik Pandya has potential. We all know that, we have all seen that.

On Saturday, he decided to show it when his side had their backs against the wall, with all the batsmen expected to show application on a spicy pitch, back in the hut.

Under such a scenario, Pandya did what he knew best: Play with freedom. Play with flamboyance, but critically make the South African camp think, something which Kapil Dev did, in his prime, with the bat as well.

All morning, India played one kind of cricket: the survival kind, which meant South African could also play one brand: the probing one.

But Pandya's calculated performance not just bailed India out of a whole heap of trouble, it showed the rest that here was someone worth investing in, in conditions that were nowhere near what the subcontinent offered.

His terrific 95-ball 93 was backed by two wickets late in the day, which ensured that while South Africa took the honours on Day 2, India had unearthed a real positive in the form of Pandya for the remainder of the series.

Call it fate or mere co-incidence, Pandya's all-round performance came on the 59th birthday of Kapil Dev and, perhaps, if you had asked him what he would have wanted as the ideal birthday present, it could well have been a performance like this from Hardik.