Hardik Pandya hit a quickfire 47 off just 23 balls, including 28 runs in a single over vs Tripura.© X (Twitter)
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was in red hot batting form as Baroda beat Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on Friday in Indore. Hardik hit a quickfire 47 off just 23 balls, including 28 runs in a single over off Parvez Sultan, to help Baroda chase down Tripura’s mediocre total of 109/9 in just 11.2 overs. The former India captain hit 4 towering sixes and a solitary four in the 10th over of Baroda’s innings at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
Hardik has been in sensational form for Baroda in the ongoing season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In four matches, the 31-year-old has managed scores of 74*, 41*, 69 and 47. He is second leading run-scorer in the tournament with 231 runs, only behind India teammate Tilak Varma, who has amassed 272 runs in as many matches.
Coming back to the match, Akash Singh returned figures of 3/19 as Baroda restricted Tripura to 109/9 in 20 overs.
Tripura captain Mandeep Singh fought a lone battle, scoring 50 off 40 balls. No other batter managed to cross the 15-run mark.
Chasing 153, Hardik and Mitesh Patel (37*) ensured Baroda achieved the target with 50 balls to spare.
Recently, Hardik became the first Indian player to achieve the double of 5000 runs and over 100 wickets in T20 cricket, with his tally standing at 180 wickets. Ravindra Jadeja follows with 3684 runs and 225 wickets, while Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya, and Irfan Pathan round out the list of notable Indian all-rounders in the format.
With Hardik in red-hot form, Baroda sit top of Group B with a perfect record after four matches. Hardik will now be seen in action for India in January as he is not part of the Test team for the ongoing tour of Australia.
India will play five T20Is and three ODIs against England in January-February.
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