How did Hardik Pandya fare on his return to 50-over cricket?

It was a late call to include Hardik Pandya in the Vijay Hazare trophy, but the all-rounder played his first game of the tournament for Baroda against Bengal in Hyderabad on December 28 (Saturday). 

This was Pandya's first game since he walked off the field after injuring his ankle in the 2023 World Cup clash against Bangladesh in Pune. He has returned to the 50-over format for the first time in over 14 months.

Put into bat first, Baroda managed just 228 as Sayan Ghosh and Pradipta Pramanik picked up three wickets apiece. For Baroada opener, Shashwat Rawat made 95, while Bhanu Pania slammed 42 batting at nine. However, Pandya, who walked in at five with Baroda reasonably well-paced at 100/3 in the 22nd over, managed to score just one off two deliveries.

With the ball, he managed to get rid of Abishek Porel in the first over, but other than that, there was nothing to show for his efforts. He finished with 1/33 from seven overs as Bengal went on to win the match by seven wickets with seven overs to spare.

Baroda and Pandya will be in action next against Bihar on December 31 (Tuesday) in Hyderabad.