Hardik Pandya guides Baroda to victory over Punjab in Group C clash

Hardik Pandya marked his return with an unbeaten 77 to guide Baroda to a seven-wicket win over Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Abhishek Sharma’s quick fifty and Anmolpreet Singh’s 69 went in vain as Baroda chased 223

Hyderabad: India all-rounder Hardik Pandya made an excellent return to competitive cricket after two months, striking an unbeaten 77 to power Baroda to a seven-wicket win over Punjab in a Group C match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Tuesday.

Pandya’s 42-ball knock (7×4, 4×6) helped Baroda chase Punjab’s challenging 222 for eight in 20 overs, which was built around India opener Abhishek Sharma’s 19-ball 50. Pandya’s blitz carried Baroda to 224 for three in 19.1 overs.

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This was the 32-year-old’s first competitive outing since playing against Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup Super Fours match at Dubai on September 26. Since then, he missed action owing to a left quadricep injury and had been recuperating at the BCCI CoE in Bengaluru.

On this day, he batted freely and bowled four overs, conceding 52 runs and taking the wicket of Anmolpreet Singh. Pandya’s smooth outing might come as a boost for national selectors who will be picking India’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.

He gave a typical finish to the match, smashing left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar for two sixes and then repeating the treatment against pacer Gurnoor Brar as Baroda bagged four crucial points. Baroda are placed third on the table with eight points, behind leaders Gujarat (12 points) and Punjab (8 points, but superior net run rate of 2.27 compared to Baroda’s -0.08).

Pandya also got support from Vishnu Solanki (41 off 21 balls), Shashwat Rawat (31 off 18 balls) and Shivalik Sharma, who made 47 off 31 balls before retiring hurt.

Earlier, Punjab rode on Abhishek’s whirlwind fifty that contained five fours and four sixes, and Anmolpreet’s equally brisk 69 off 32 balls (7×4, 4×6) to raise a total in excess of 200.

For Baroda, India under-19 pacer Raj Limbani took three for 36 in four overs.

Brief Scores:

Punjab: 222/8 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 50, Anmolpreet Singh 69; Raj Limbani 3/36) lost to Baroda: 224/3 in 19.1 overs (Hardik Pandya 77 not out, Shivalik Sharma 47 retired hurt, Shashwat Rawat 31, Vishnu Solanki 41) by 7 wickets.

Pondicherry: 83 all out in 13.1 overs (JK Bhatt 3/17, Ravi Bishnoi 3/13, Arzan Nagwaswalla 2/22) lost to Gujarat: 84/1 in 9 overs (Aarya Desai 53 not out) by 9 wickets.