Back in domestic cricket after six years, Hardik Pandya is enjoying his time while playing for Baroda as he played another match-winning knock. The Baroda all-rounder delivered a Player of the Match performance and slammed 69 off just 30 balls. Baroda chased down the target of 222 on the last delivery of the 20th over.
While there were many important contributions from other batsmen, Hardik slamming Gurjapneet Singh for 30 runs in the 17th over hogged the limelight. Gurjapneet joined Chennai Super Kings for Rs 2.20 crore in the IPL 2025 mega-auction.
2 days after the auction, Hardik punished the pacer. He started over by smashing three back-to-back sixes. Gurjapneet bowled a no-ball after getting hit for 3 sixes. Hardik hit a six on the free hit. He followed up with a boundary and a single.
Hardik couldn't complete the chase and was run out by Vijay Shankar on the first delivery of the 20th over. Baroda were 9 runs away from the win when Hardik got out. Baroda completed the chase on the final ball.
Hardik, who is playing under Krunal Pandya's captaincy, has scores of 74*, 41* and 69 in three innings. With 3 wins from as many matches, Baroda are at the top spot in the points table. They have 12 points in their account at a strong NRR of +0.437. They are followed by Tamil Nadu, who have 2 wins from 3 matches. Baroda will face Tripura in their next game on Friday (November 29).
When will Hardik return to international cricket?
Hardik Pandya will make his return to international cricket in Janaury 2025. He is a regular in white-ball cricket and will be part of the squad for the ODI and T20I series against England. India are scheduled to host England in 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs in January -February.