Krunal’s rapid century took Baroda past the 400-run mark.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: K.V.S. GIRI
Baroda’s top-order had a field day at the Sanosara Cricket Ground ‘B’, with three batters scoring hundreds in the 37-run win over Hyderabad in Group B here on Wednesday. Openers Nitya Pandya (122, 110b, 12×4, 1×6) and Amit Pasi (127, 93b, 12×4, 7×6) struck contrasting centuries to lay the foundation for Krunal Pandya’s rapid ton (109 n.o., 63b, 18×4, 1×6), which helped the side post its highest List-A total of 417 for four.
Hyderabad remained in the hunt to haul down this total thanks to maiden List A hundreds from Abhirath Reddy (130, 90b, 18×4, 2×6) and Pragnay Reddy (113, 98b, 11×4, 1×6), but it was eventually bowled out for 380.
After being put in to bat, Amit showed his intentions early, repeatedly planting his foot across and lofting pacers over extra cover to collect a slew of boundaries. Nitya needed more time to adjust to the bounce on the surface on his List A debut. Amit reached his maiden List A hundred off just 63 balls, propelling Baroda past 200 before half the overs were completed.
Nitya had a couple of nervous plays and misses outside in his nineties before he managed to get across to three figures. Hyderabad managed to peg things back with three quick wickets, but that proved to be only a minor blip as Krunal’s effective pull shots and Bhanu Pania’s 27-ball 42 helped the side set a record score.
In reply, Hyderabad began on the front foot, openers Aman Rao and Tanmay Agarwal combining for a 50-run partnership inside five overs. Abhirath and Pragnay then combined for a solid 200-run partnership in just 145 balls to keep Hyderabad on track. Abhirath brought up his first List A hundred off 74 balls and carried on until he was pinned in front after missing a reverse sweep. Pragnay reached his three-digit landmark off 87 balls to carry the hopes of an improbable chase. The Baroda pacers fought back with effective utilisation of the slower balls at the death to ensure the mammoth total wasn’t eclipsed.
Meanwhile, Bengal thumped Jammu and Kashmir by nine wickets after bowling the opponent out for just 63, receiving a huge net run rate boost in the process.
The scores: Group B (Rajkot): Baroda 417/4 in 50 overs (Nitya Pandya 122, Amit Pasi 127, Krunal Pandya 109 n.o., Bhanu Pania 42 n.o.) bt Hyderabad 380 in 49.5 overs (Abhirath Reddy 130, Pragnay Reddy 113).
Jammu and Kashmir 63 in 20.4 overs (Akash Deep 4/32, Mukesh Kumar 4/16) lost to Bengal 64/1 in 9.3 overs.
Chandigarh 113 in 29.1 overs (Darshan Nalkande 4/33) lost to Vidarbha 114/2 in 22.3 overs (Atharva Taide 43 n.o., Dhruv Shorey 43).
Assam 308 in 48.4 overs (Sumit Ghadigaonkar 101, Sibsankar Roy 82, Vipraj Nigam 4/66) lost to Uttar Pradesh 291/2 in 42 overs (Aryan Juyal 150 n.o., Priyam Garg 52). UP won by VJD method.
Published – December 31, 2025 07:27 pm IST
