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Hardik came out to bat at number 6 for Baroda on Thursday and smashed 2 fours and 9 sixes during his stay in the Krunal Pandya-led team’s crease.
Hardik Pandya scored 75 runs off just 31 balls. (Image credit: PTI)
Star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya will play for Baroda in their Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group B match against Chandigarh at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Thursday (January 8). He came out to bat at number 6 for the Krunal Pandya-led team in their seventh and final Elite Group B match and scored 75 runs off just 31 balls. Hardik needed just 19 balls to complete his half-century and in total he scored a total of 9 sixes and 2 fours during his stay at the crease.
Hardik batted at a strike rate of 241.02 and added 90 runs off just 51 balls for the fifth wicket with Priyanshu Moliya who made 103 runs off 106 balls.
Pandya scored a century off just 68 balls for Baroda in their last Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Vidarbha on January 3.
In that match, with the help of 8 fours and 11 sixes, Hardik added 133 runs off 92 balls to Baroda’s total. But their effort went in vain as Baroda could not defend the target of 294 runs and suffered a humiliating defeat by 9 wickets.
For Baroda, in the ongoing match, apart from Hardik and Priyanshu, wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma also impressed with his batting. Jitesh came to the crease after Hardik’s wicket and scored 73 runs off 33 balls.
The right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, who was dropped from the 2026 T20 World Cup squad, hit 8 fours and 4 sixes during his stay at the crease.
He added 106 runs off 57 balls for the sixth wicket with Priyanshu.
Pandya to play in New Zealand T20Is
Hardik, who is not yet cleared to play the full quota of 10 overs, was not picked for the three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand but is part of the T20I squad for the home series against the Black Caps. The five-match T20I series between India and New Zealand will begin on January 21 in Nagpur, with the next four matches scheduled in Raipur, Guwahati, Vizag and Thiruvananthapuram.
India squad for T20I series against New Zealand: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK)
Rajkot, India, India
January 8, 2026, 12:36 IST
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