Hardik Pandya Shines with First List A Century Against Vidarbha in Vijay Hazare Trophy

During the Vijay Hazare Trophy match at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Saturday, Hardik Pandya hit his first List A century while playing for Baroda against Vidarbha. Pandya achieved this milestone in just 68 balls, striking six fours and eight sixes.

Baroda was struggling at 71 for five in the 20th over when Pandya entered at number seven. He took his time initially, reaching his half-century in 44 balls. However, he accelerated his innings, taking only 24 more balls to complete his century.

In a remarkable 39th over, Pandya smashed left-arm spinner Parth Rekhade for 34 runs, which is the third most expensive over in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, including five sixes and a four.

Pandya was eventually dismissed after scoring 133 runs off 92 balls, with his innings featuring 11 sixes and eight fours. This match marked Pandya’s first appearance for Baroda in this season’s 50-over competition. Previously, he last played this format during the Champions Trophy in March 2025.

Overall, Pandya has participated in 119 List A matches, which include 94 ODIs for India, eight matches for India A, and 17 for Baroda. His previous best score was an unbeaten 92 against Australia in 2020 in Canberra. In total, Pandya has accumulated over 2,300 runs in List A cricket.

The article was published on January 3, 2026.