Rajkot, Jan 3 India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya produced a sensational knock to mark his maiden List A century, continuing his golden run of form for Baroda against Vidarbha in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Saturday.
When Pandya came to bat, the Baroda team was struggling at 71 for five after 20 overs. Coming in at number seven, Hardik initially played cautiously, aiming to build a partnership, and eventually reached his half-century in 44 balls.
Pandya then accelerated and took only 24 more balls to reach the three-figure mark. The all-rounder smashed 34 runs off the 39th over, smoking five sixes and a four in six deliveries, to complete his century, taking just 68 balls to achieve the feat. Pandya eventually fell after scoring 133 off 92 balls, with his knock including a massive 11 sixes and eight fours. Courtesy of his charismatic innings, Baroda managed to post 293 runs in 50 overs.
Apart from Pandya, the other batters struggled against Vidarbha's bowling and couldn't surpass 30 runs. Yash Thakur led Vidarbha's bowlers with a four-wicket haul and was supported by Nachiket Bhute and Parth Rekhade, who picked up two scalps each.
This was Pandya’s first game for Baroda this season. Overall, he has played 119 List A matches, comprising 94 ODIs for India, eight for India A, and 17 for Baroda. Pandya has scored 2,300 runs in List A cricket and has also taken 110 wickets in this format.
Hardik Pandya has been in excellent form lately. He made 142 runs at a strike rate of 186.84 during the India vs South Africa five-game T20I series last month, marking a remarkable comeback after recovering from his injury, which had sidelined him for over three months. With Team India set to announce their ODI squad for the New Zealand series on Saturday, Pandya's performance provides positive news for the team.
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