The swashbuckling all-rounder Hardik Pandya continued his stellar form on his return from injury as he slammed a 55-ball 158 for Reliance 1 against BPCL in the semi-final of the 16th DY Patil T20 Cup at the DY Patil Stadium on March 6 (Friday). Although he ended the tournament with a duck in the final, Pandya has set the stage on fire with three weeks to go for the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Pandya, who is returning from surgery on his back looked in complete control of the scheme of things. He was slated to return for the New Zealand series but could not be fit in time but started bowling at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru after returning from a check-up in the United Kingdom.
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Meanwhile, a couple of days after smashing 105 off just 39 balls, fit-again Hardik Pandya smacked 20 massive sixes and hit six fours in the 158-run carnage which entertained the crowd who had turned up to see India internationals like him, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shreyas Iyer among others.
Following his tremendous show, fans turned up in massive numbers for the final clash at the DY Patil Stadium between Reliance 1 and Indian Oil. However, Pandya failed to get going in the title clash and despite a good show from Dhawan, Reliance lost the match by 11 runs, much to the dismay of the fans.
However, after the end of the match, thousands of fans invaded the pitch, chanting “Hardik, Hardik” as the noise reverberated in the stadium. Some of the fans even came near the Reliance 1 dressing room to get a glimpse of their favourite star.
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Watch the video here:
What crowds post the DY Patil t20 Cup! All rooting for just one man @hardikpandya7 #cricket pic.twitter.com/SCMWEJNmxd
— Chandresh Narayanan (@chand2579) March 6, 2020
Following his good show with both bat and ball and proving his fitness, Hardik Pandya is all but set to return to the Indian squad for the three-match ODI series against South Africa. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan are also in line for return with Mohammed Shami being rested and Rohit Sharma still nursing his injury.
