Hardik Pandya failed in his first 50-over match after 14 months

Last updated:December 28, 2024, 12:35 IST

Hardik Pandya appeared for Baroda in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Bengal on Saturday and scored a run off two balls.

Hardik Pandya scored 1 run off 2 balls for Baroda against Bengal on Saturday. (Image source: PTI)

Star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya made his much-awaited comeback in the 50-over format of the game on Saturday, December 28. The 31-year-old cricketer last played a one-day match against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19, 2023. In that match of the 2023 ODI World Cup, he suffered an injury that kept him out of action for more than four months.

However, in his first one-day match in over 14 months, Hardik failed to achieve much and returned to the pavilion after scoring a run in two balls.

The 31-year-old right-hander, who is expected to be part of India’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, appeared for his home team Baroda against No. 5 Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 match currently being held at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad . He opened his account with a single on the first ball but was caught off the bowling of Pradipta Parmanik by Sudip Kumar Gharami on the next ball.

Hardik missed the first few matches of the ongoing National Premier 50-over tournament for Baroda due to personal reasons.

The veteran of 86 ODIs for India had also pulled out of India’s three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in August 2024 due to personal reasons.

Hardik’s performance in the last few games

Before taking the field for the Krunal Pandya-led side in the Vijay Hazare Trophy match on Saturday, Hardik played seven matches in the 2024 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and scored 246 runs at a strike rate of 193.70. He crossed the 50-run mark twice for his home team and also remained unbeaten in two matches. During the tournament he hit 17 fours and 20 sixes.

Apart from his batting, Hardik also grabbed headlines for his bowling and in five innings, he was responsible for dismissing six batsmen. His best performance with the ball came in the quarter-final match against Bengal, where he conceded just 27 runs in his quota of four overs and got rid of three batters to help Krunal Pandya & Co. successfully defend their total of 172 runs and Book one Place in the semi-final game against Mumbai.