When Hardik Pandya walked out to bat under lights to thunderous cheers at the Holkar Stadium on Wednesday, Baroda needed another 101 runs from 44 deliveries with six wickets in hand in its Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy clash against Tamil Nadu. It was an improbable ask, but there’s a reason why Hardik is a T20 World Cup winner with more than 100 international appearances in the shortest format. He responded with a sensational onslaught, hitting 69 off 30 balls, as his team chased down 222 with three wickets in hand off the final ball of the contest.
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Hardik wasn’t there right at the close, having been dismissed off the first ball of the 20th over after a superb direct hit from Vijay Shankar at deep midwicket found the star all-rounder short at the striker’s end while looking to get back for the second run. It led to wild celebrations from Tamil Nadu’s players who perhaps thought the match was won, but with the equation boiling down to Baroda needing four runs from the final delivery, Atit Sheth slashed at a wide ball from M. Mohammed over short third man to ensure Hardik’s knock wasn’t in vain.
Of Hardik’s seven sixes, four came in a 30-run 17th over bowled by left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh. At the start of this over, Baroda had needed 66 runs off 24 balls. By the end of it, the required rate had whittled down considerably as Hardik tore into Chennai Super Kings’ new acquisition.
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Tamil Nadu can still take heart from its dominant batting display. Sent in by Baroda captain Krunal Pandya, it reached its third consecutive 200-plus total on the back of another half-century from N. Jagadeesan. M. Shahrukh and Vijay Shankar flexed their big-hitting prowess, too, in a 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Even Hardik wasn’t spared on his introduction into the attack after the Powerplay. His first over went for 13 runs, his second for 11, and his third for 20, resulting in untidy figures of 3-0-44-0. It, perhaps, spurred Hardik to have his payback by the end of the contest.
The scores: Tamil Nadu 221/6 in 20 overs (N. Jagadeesan 57, Vijay Shankar 42 n.o., M. Shahrukh Khan 39, Lukman Meriwala 3/41) lost to Baroda 222/7 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 69, Bhanu Pania 42, Varun Chakravarthy 3/43); Toss: Baroda, Points: Tamil Nadu 0 (8), Baroda 4 (12).