Hardik Pandya played an excellent knock of 69 runs in 30 balls to lead Baroda to a three-wicket win over Tamil Nadu in a high-scoring Group B match at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday.
Hardik’s innings included four 4s and seven 6s. Out of those seven sixes, four came in the 17th over bowled by left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh.
Chasing a stiff total of 222, Baroda was at 121 for 4 when Hardik came out to bat after the dismissal of his elder brother Krunal.
The equation came down to 66 needed off 24 balls when Gurjapneet, a 6’3” seamer bought for Rs 2.2 crore by five-time Indian Premier League champion Chennai Super Kings at the IPL 2025 auction in Jeddah, came to bowl his third over.
Hardik hit three sixes off the first three balls of Gurjapneet’s over. The pacer conceded another six after bowling a no ball. Hardik scored a four off the penultimate delivery before taking a single with Baroda requiring 36 runs off the last three overs.
While Hardik was dismissed off the first ball of the final over after a direct hit from Vijay Shankar from deep midwicket, his effort eventually proved to be enough as his side completed the chase on the last ball of the match.