Vijay Hazare Trophy: Hardik made waves with his stormy century… Harshit Rana-Prince became a boon for Delhi, Karnataka’s openers in the headlines.
Rajkot. All-rounder Hardik Pandya played a stormy century of 133 runs with the help of 11 sixes in 92 balls against Vidarbha in the Elite Group B match of Vijay Hazare Trophy on Saturday, taking his team Baroda to a respectable score of 293 runs. At the same time, he strongly presented his claim for the ODI series against New Zealand. Today, after winning the toss, Vidarbha decided to bowl first.
Baroda, who came to bat, did not have a good start and lost wickets continuously to the bowling attack of Vidarbha. At one time, Baroda had lost five wickets at the score of 71 in 19.1 overs. Amit Hariram Pasi (0) and Nitya Pandya (15) were dismissed by Nachiket Bhute.
Priyanshu Moliya (16), Atit Seth (21) and Jitesh Sharma (nine) were out after scoring runs. Hardik Pandya, who came to bat in such a crisis, took charge of the innings along with captain Krunal Pandya and scored runs rapidly and added 65 runs for the sixth wicket. Parth Rekhade ended this partnership by dismissing Krunal Pandya (23) in the 31st over. After this, in the 37th over, Vishnu Solanki also became the victim of Parth Rekhde after scoring 26 runs.
During this, Hardik completed his century. He played a stormy innings of 133 runs in 92 balls, hitting eight fours and 11 sixes. He was dismissed by Yash Thakur in the 46th over. Baroda scored 293 runs for nine wickets in the stipulated 50 overs. Mahesh Pithiya (18) and Karan Umatt remained unbeaten on 13 runs. Yash Thakur took four wickets for Vidarbha. Nachiket Bhute and Parth Rekhde got two wickets each. Praful Hinge dismissed one batsman.
On the strength of Harshit Rana and Prince Yadav, Delhi stopped the services at 178.
On the strength of the lethal bowling of Harshit Rana (four wickets) and Prince Yadav (three wickets), Delhi bundled out Services’ innings at the score of 178 in 42.5 overs in the Elite Group D match of Vijay Hazare Trophy on Saturday. Today Delhi won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Services batsmen, who came to bat, struggled against Delhi’s excellent bowling and kept losing wickets one after the other at regular intervals.
None of his batsmen could score more than 26 runs. Vikas Hathwala scored the highest score of 26 runs for Services. Raj Bahadur (25), Poonam Poonia (23), captain Pulkit Narang (22), Irfan Ali (17), Nukul Sharma (13), Ravi Chauhan (11) were out after scoring runs. Services team was reduced to a score of 178 in 42.5 overs. Harshit Rana took four wickets for Delhi. Prince Yadav got three wickets. Ishant Sharma, Ayush Badoni and Harsh Tyagi dismissed one batsman each.
Padikkal’s fourth century in five innings brought him into the limelight
Karnataka opener Devdutt Padikkal once again showed why he is considered one of India’s most promising young batting talents as he smashed a brilliant century against Tripura in Round 5 of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday. With the ODI series against New Zealand around the corner, Padikkal’s consistent domestic form has put him in the spotlight for national selection. Karnataka had a difficult start to the innings at the Narendra Modi Stadium, where the green pitch was helpful for the bowlers.
Early deliveries from Tripura’s Abhijeet Sarkar reduced Karnataka to 6/2, with captain Mayank Agarwal (5) and Karun Nair (0) out. At this critical juncture, Padikkal stepped in to take over the innings. Combining composure and controlled aggression, Padikkal carefully led his innings with Smaran Ravichandran (60), and stitched a 136-run partnership that took Karnataka out of immediate danger.
Padikkal was eventually out to Abhijeet after scoring 108 runs, which he scored in 120 balls, an innings which included eight fours and three sixes, his fourth century in five innings this season. His scores in the tournament now stand at 147, 124, 22, 113, and 108, showing his remarkable consistency in List-A cricket. His batting displayed perfect timing, brilliant strokeplay and the ability to rotate the strike under pressure, which kept Karnataka in a strong position.
Karnataka made a strong score of 332 runs for seven wickets in 50 overs. Padikkal’s innings not only saved Karnataka from early setbacks but also provided a platform for middle-order batsmen like KL Rahul (35) and Abhinav Manohar (58) to pace the innings.
His ability to handle pressure and adapt to situations makes him an invaluable asset to Karnataka and a serious contender for India’s limited overs team. The selectors will definitely be paying attention to Padikkal’s form as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will announce the ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against New Zealand today.
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