Hardik Pandya (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) Rajkot saw a master class from Hardik Pandya as Baroda posted a competitive 293 for 9 against Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The 32-year-old all-rounder took control of the innings as his team struggled and turned the match into a spectacle even without the presence of spectators. Baroda were struggling at 71 for 5 when Hardik came in. He started cautiously, working the lower order and picking gaps to keep the score ticking. The innings kept building, with singles and boundaries helping Baroda recover from a precarious position.The real fireworks came in the 39th over when Hardik unleashed a stunning sequence: 6,6,6,6,6,4 against Vidarbha spinner Parth Rekhade. He hit five consecutive sixes and finished the over with four through points, taking 34 runs from just six balls to move from 66 to a blistering century in just 68 balls. Hardik finished with 133 off 92 balls, hitting 11 sixes and 8 fours at a rate of 144.57. Basically, Baroda carried the innings as no other batsman even crossed 30, with Vishnu Solanki providing brief support with 26 off 17 balls. The Vidarbha bowlers tried to make a breakthrough but Hardik’s timing and power proved unplayable. Yash Thakur finished with 4 wickets for 64 but it was Hardik’s innings that dominated the game and lit up the Vijay Hazare Trophy.In the last T20, the fifth match against South Africa, Hardik Pandya played a sensational innings as he smashed 63 runs in just 25 balls to help India post a mammoth total of 231 to seal the series win. Apart from his explosive batting, Hardik also achieved the remarkable milestone of completing 100 wickets in T20 Internationals. He became only the third Indian bowler after Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh to achieve this milestone. Pandya now joins an elite group of players with more than 2,000 T20 runs and more than 100 wickets, underscoring his status as one of India’s most versatile and impressive all-rounders.
