India's all-rounder Hardik Pandya showed a remarkable performace against Tamil Nadu in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the match played at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday.
In the domestic T20 tournament, the all rounder scored an impressive 69 runs off just 30 balls. His impressive performance guided Baroda to a three-wicket victory over Tamil Nadu.
During the match, Pandya came in to bat at No. 6 when the team was struggling at 152/6 in the 16th over.
He also faced Chennai Super Kings new recruit, Gurjapneet Singh. Singh had recently gained recognition for dismissing Virat Kohli during India's practice ahead of the Bangladesh Test series and taking out Cheteshwar Pujara in the Ranji Trophy.
Tamil Nadu made a daunting 221 for six riding on half-centuries by Narayan Jagadeesan and a quick 42 (22b) by all-rounder Vijay Shankar. But Hardik singlehandedly dragged Baroda back to the match from 152 for six. However, when Pandya got out in the second ball of the final over, Baroda still needed 9 runs to win. But Raj Limbani and Atit Sheth, who hit a final ball four, knocked off those runs to carry their side to win.
Meanwhile, Pandya is set to lead the team as captain in the upcoming IPL 2025 season. Pandya had a mixed 2024. After being booed by fans while leading Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, Pandya shut critics by playing a vital role in India's T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados.
Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami leaked 46 runs in four overs, but Bengal still managed to limit Mizoram to 157/4 and then register a facile eight-wicket win in a Group A match at Rajkot.
Openers Abhishek Porel (81, 45b, 9x4, 4x6) and Karan Lal (67, 40b, 7x4, 3x6) led Bengal’ chase in just 15.3 overs.
