The flamboyant Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya has made a strong comeback in competitive cricket with another century in the ongoing DY Patil T20 Cup, where he is playing for the Reliance 1 team. The hard-hitting batsman played a whirlwind knock of 158* in just 55 balls, his second century in the tournament. His first century had 14 sixes and 2 fours in the innings, against CAG.
Four days ago against CAG, Pandya smashed 105 in just 39 balls, which must have given his IPL team Mumbai Indians and Team India selectors much confidence about his fitness and recovery from his back surgery. Just to make sure that he was fit in every sense, Pandya then came back to pick a five-wicket haul for his Reliance 1 team and helping them win the encounter.
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Pandya’s Reliance 1 took on Bharat Petroleum Company Limited (BPCL) led by Suryakumar Yadav in the first semi-final of the tournament and the Baroda all-rounder stole the limelight after walking in to bat at no.4 with his team in trouble at 10/2. Openers Anmolpreet Singh and Shikhar Dhawan were dismissed after scoring 4 and 3 respectively.
Hardik made a strong partnership with Saurabh Tiwary, who made 41 runs in just 34 balls and added 106 runs for the third wicket to stabilize the innings. The all-rounder ended up making 158* in 55 balls hitting an eye-watering 20 sixes and 4 fours in his innings. Pandya had reached his century in just 39 balls. His and Tiwary’s contributions helped the Reliance 1 to 238/4.
Here is the video of his knock:
With this amazing knock, coupled with his first century in the tournament, Hardik has proved his match fitness to the selectors. Earlier, the trainer under whom Pandya was training felt that he would not take a load of bowling after coming back from such a rehabilitation. He went under the knife in London and spent months getting back in shape.
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After the century, Hardik went berserk watching him play such an amazing inning with so many sixes included. They cannot wait to see him don the Blue jersey again in the upcoming ODI series against South Africa and shared their excitement on Twitter.
Here are some tweets:
@hardikpandya7 paagal ho gya hai ye bnda …..
158 Runs 55 Balls #hardikpandya #BCCI @BCCI #TigerShroff #OPPOReno3Pro
— कबीर (@adhikari_kabir) March 6, 2020
Hardik Pandya on his day can be a devastating cricketer; whether batting,bowling or fielding-He's proved this time and again&of late the Indian Team&cricket enthusiasts have missed action from this great talent-He has authentically proved he is fit,fine&ready to go-All the best!
— sadanand (@sada9481265214) March 6, 2020
didnt knew it was true, behind every successful man thrs a woman,
i need to get married soon🤪🤣
Hardik pandya pic.twitter.com/GpWrv1DYLC— subin (@Being_Subin) March 6, 2020
Hardik Pandya scores in the ongoing #DYPatilT20Cup
46(29), 105(39), 38(25), 158*(55)— Kaushik Kashyap (@CricKaushik_) March 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/ordinary__extra/status/1235858870989283328
Brilliant form continues 🔥🔥
Completed 150 with six😍#HardikPandya #DyPatil https://t.co/bjkPn0filp pic.twitter.com/UNOBbCc5gq— 𝑨𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒌 (@Arunk_2) March 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/ordinary__extra/status/1235858648867287041
https://twitter.com/kaif_fu/status/1235858151678685184
#Hardik Pandya scored 100 +
Shivam Dube scored 9*Hardik Pandya beating farmers , Dube saving his energy to beat real bowlers in IPL *#levels #DYPatilT20Cup
— Sai (@akakrcb6) March 6, 2020
Shivam Dube gone for 9(9). He was a replacement of Hardik Pandya in the Indian team. #DYPatilT20Cup
— Kaushik Kashyap (@CricKaushik_) March 6, 2020
Absolute Carnage! @hardikpandya7 #DYPatilT20Cup #HardikPandya #OneFamily #MumbaiIndians pic.twitter.com/KPyruM9Czp
— Satyam Shekhar (@satyamshekhar_) March 6, 2020
