Hyderabad, December 2 – Hardik Pandya showcased his brilliance after making a comeback to competitive cricket following a long break. On Tuesday, Hardik Pandya was awarded ‘Player of the Match’ for his outstanding all-round performance against Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 Elite Group-C match.
Hardik Pandya played an unbeaten innings of 77 runs off 42 balls against Punjab, hitting 4 sixes and 7 fours. Additionally, he also took 1 wicket. Thanks to Hardik Pandya‘s brilliant performance, Baroda registered a 7-wicket victory. This was the team’s second win of the season.
In the match played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Punjab won the toss and chose to bat first, scoring 222 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
The team got off to a great start through Prabhsimran Singh and captain Abhishek Sharma. Both players scored 53 runs in 4.1 overs. Prabhsimran was dismissed for 16 runs, while Abhishek Sharma played an innings of 50 runs off 19 balls with 4 sixes and 5 fours.
Punjab had lost their opening batsmen at the score of 92. From here, Nehal Wadhera partnered with Naman Dhir to add 80 runs in 43 balls, taking the team to a score of 172.
For the team, Anmolpreet Singh scored the highest 69 runs off 32 balls. His innings included 4 sixes and 7 fours, while Naman Dhir returned to the pavilion after scoring 39 runs.
From the opposition team, Raj Limbani took 3 wickets giving away 36 runs, while Hardik Pandya, Rasikh Salam and Atit Sheth claimed one wicket each.
In response, Baroda achieved victory in 19.1 overs. The team got a brilliant start from the opening pair of Vishnu Solanki and Shashwat Rawat. Both batsmen scored 66 runs in 5.1 overs. Shashwat Rawat returned to the pavilion after scoring 31 runs, while Vishnu Solanki contributed 43 runs to the team’s account.
The team had lost both opening batsmen at the score of 92. From here, Hardik Pandya partnered with Shivalik Sharma for the third wicket, adding 109 runs in 62 balls to take the team past 200.
Shivalik retired hurt on 47 runs, while Pandya contributed 77 runs to the team’s account. From the opposition team, Ashwini Kumar and Ramandeep Singh took 1 wicket each.
Hardik Pandya was injured during the Asia Cup Super-4 match against Sri Lanka. This match was played on September 26. After this, Pandya had to wait for a long time to return to the cricket field.
My name is Ganpat Singh Choughan. I am an experienced content writer with 7 years of expertise in the field. Currently, I contribute to Daily Kiran, creating engaging and informative content across a variety of categories including technology, health, travel, education, and automobiles. My goal is to deliver accurate, insightful, and captivating information through my words to help readers stay informed and empowered.
