A day before the selection committee meet to pick the squad for the upcoming five-match T20Is against South Africa, all-rounder Hardik Pandya showed he is fit and ready to fire. Since picking up a left quadriceps injury during India’s victorious Asia Cup campaign towards the end of September, Pandya hasn’t played any international fixtures, and after regaining match fitness, the all-rounder turned up for Baroda in their Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 fixture against Punjab in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
As has been the recent trend with the Indian team, he started with the new ball with the red-hot Abhishek Sharma ready to test him in this 11 am fixture at the RGIS. And as expected, the southpaw didn’t waste any time. Of the four deliveries Pandya bowled to the left-hander, he conceded a boundary and six. Even Prabhsimran Singh didn’t hold back, as the diminutive batsman picked up 14 runs off the eight deliveries that Pandya sent down to him. It included three boundaries. The treatment continued for Pandya for the rest of the inning as Anmolpreet Singh picked up 15 off 5 as his four overs cost 52 runs with just 5 dot deliveries to show.
Pandya shines with bat
With an eye on the T20 World Cup, India have been using Pandya as one of the frontline seamers, with Jasprit Bumrah or Arshdeep Singh being the other. While the two are certain to make the cut, fitness permitting, Pandya can still be a new ball operator if India’s think-tank decides to save up Bumrah for the second half of the innings. The five-match series against South Africa will provide answers to whether Pandya can continue to be trusted with the new ball, as dew will be a factor; his ability to hit the deck could be handy.
While his performances with the ball weren’t up to the mark, Pandya made amends with the bat. With the electrifying Punjab batting line-up coming up with another power-packed performance to put up a total of 222/8, thanks to Abhishek’s 50 and Anmolpreet Singh’s 69, Baroda needed Pandya to step up with the bat.
Chasing a challenging total, Baroda got the right kind of start with openers Vishnu Solanki (43) and Shashwat Rawat (31) putting together 66 for the first wicket in 5.1 overs. Walking in at No. 3, Shivalik Sharma continued the carnage with 47 before Pandya took control of the proceedings with his own hands. Batting at No 4, Pandya was in his usual destructive element, scoring an unbeaten 77 off just 42 deliveries in an innings that included seven boundaries and four sixes.
Pandya’s return to fitness makes it interesting, ahead of selection for South Africa T20Is. With Nitish Kumar Reddy struggling, the selectors might just stick to one seam-bowling all-rounder and opt for a spin-heavy attack that includes the all-round capabilities of Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Suryavanshi youngest to score SMAT century
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, at 14, became the youngest batsman to score a century in SMAT. Just days after fellow Under-19 opener Ayush Mhatre scored the second century of the tournament, Suryavanshi owned the stage at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens against Maharashtra. The left-hander scored an unbeaten 108 off 61 deliveries which included seven boundaries and as many sixes. As usual the majority of his runs came in boundaries.
🚨 Record Alert 🚨
Another feather in the cap for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who becomes the youngest batter to score a century in #SMAT at the age of 14 years and 250 days 🫡
He achieved the feat with a scintillating 1⃣0⃣8⃣*(61) for Bihar against Maharashtra in Kolkata👏
Scorecard… pic.twitter.com/UFGqPg1vmm
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 2, 2025
At Lucknow, Sarfaraz Khan scored his maiden T20 century in Mumbai’s 98-run win over Assam. Batting first, powered by Safaraz’s unbeaten 100 off 47 balls (8×4, 7×6), Mumbai put up a total of 220/4. In response, Assam were never in the chase as they were bowled out for 122 with Shardul Thakur picking up five wickets.
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Tripura beat Delhi
At Ahmedabad, Delhi were beaten by Tripura by 12 runs. Batting first, Tripura put 157/5, a total that was definitely below par, given the high scores witnessed at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Although none of the Tripura batsmen touched 30, they played the cameos that gave the bowlers something to defend. In the end, that proved to be more than enough as Delhi were humbled by the team from the Northeast. Nitish Rana top-scored with 45, but found little support from the other end as they went down by 12 runs.
