The Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot, witnessed a masterclass from Hardik Pandya. The 32-year-old Indian all-rounder played his innings with responsibility, taking his team from 71-5 to a competitive score of 293-9.
‘Hard-hitter’ Pandya
Baroda was struggling with just 71 runs on the board, losing 5 wickets when Hardik Pandya came out to bat. He started his innings carefully, finding gaps between the fielders to keep the scoreboard ticking. He built the innings steadily, with singles, doubles and boundaries, helping Baroda overcome this struggling situation. The real fireworks arrived in the 39th over when Pandya slammed left-arm spinner Parth Rekhade for 34 runs in an over. It is the third most expensive over in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Hardik scored 34 runs off the 39th over, hitting 5 sixes and a four. He had hit 5 sixes off the first five balls and a four in the point direction in the last ball. He jumped from 66 in 62 balls to 100 runs in 68 balls by the end of the 39th over. He eventually fell after scoring 133 off 92 balls, hitting 11 sixes and eight fours during his stay. Yash Thakur ended with 4 wickets for 64, but it was Hardik's innings which stole the show. No other batter from Baroda could score more than 30 runs. Vishnu Solanki played a brief part with 26 runs from 17 balls.
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Hardik Pandya’s ODI career
Hardik Pandya has played 94 matches to date in his ODI career and has scored 1,904 runs, with an average of 33. Hardik Pandya has hit 141 fours and 76 sixes in his ODI career. He played his last ODI match against New Zealand at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the Champions Trophy. This is his first century in the ODI format, surpassing his highest score of 92 against Australia in Canberra. This is Pandya’s first game for Baroda in the 50-over tournament this season.
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Hardik Pandya holds a current T20I all-rounder ranking of No. 4 (with a best ranking of No. 1) and an ODI all-rounder ranking of No. 29 (best ranking No. 5), while he is unranked in Test cricket as he has not played since 2018. In the batting rankings, he is currently No. 53 in T20Is and No. 100 in ODIs, with a best T20I batting ranking of 47 and best ODI of 41. His current bowling rankings stand at No. 78 in T20Is and No. 95 in ODIs. These rankings are fluid based on recent performance, and he has frequently topped the T20I all-rounder charts in the past.
