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Baroda will open its campaign in the 2024-25 edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Saturday, December 21, against Tripura in the match, which is scheduled to take place at Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad.
Hardik Pandya to miss first few matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy due to personal reasons. (Picture Credit: PTI)
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was in red-hot form for Baroda in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, will miss the first few matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. According to a report in the Times of India, 31-year-old Pandya, who last played a 50-over match on October 19, 2023, against Bangladesh in Pune, will not be playing in the first few matches but will link up with the Krunal Pandya-led side towards the later stage of the tournament.
It has been reported that Pandya, who has 2103 runs and 100 wickets to his name in 107 List A matches played so far since making his debut on November 8, 2014, has already conveyed his availability schedule to the Baroda side and is keen to feature in the premier domestic 50-over tournament.
Baroda is part of Group E in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which starts on December 21. The Krunal Pandya-led side will play all its group stage matches across three venues in Hyderabad. Baroda’s opening fixture is scheduled to take place at Gymkhana Ground on Saturday, December 21, against Tripura, and then on Monday (December 23), the team will line up against Kerala at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Baroda’s remaining group stage matches are scheduled to take place on December 28, 31, January 3, and 5 against Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi, respectively.
Pandya’s performance in SMAT
Pandya played seven matches in the 2024 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and scored 246 runs with a strike rate of 193.70. He twice crossed the 50-run mark for his domestic side and remained unbeaten in two matches as well. During the course of the tournament, he hammered 17 fours and 20 sixes.
Apart from his batting, Hardik made headlines for his bowling as well, and in five innings he accounted for the dismissal of six batters. His best performance with the ball was in the quarterfinal match against Bengal, where, in his quota of four overs, he only conceded 27 runs and got rid of three batters to help Krunal Pandya & Co. successfully defend the total of 172 runs and book a place in the semifinal match against Mumbai.
