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India all-rounder Hardik Pandya on Saturday clobbered nearly half a dozen sixes including five in an over on way to a 93-ball 133, for Baroda against Vidarbha in their Vijay Hazare Trophy contest here. Pandya hit an overall 11 sixes and eight fours to turn the tables on Vidarbha, who had taken control of the game by reducing Baroda to 71 for five at one stage and then 136 for six in the first half. However, batting as low as No 7 in his first match of the competition, Pandya came out all guns blazing to bring up his maiden List A century in his 119th match, taking Baroda to a competitive total of 293 for nine in their 50 overs. In the 39th over, Pandya went after Vidarbha spinner Parth Rekhade to collect a total of 34 runs which included five sixes and a four. The first five balls of the left-arm spinner went flying over the ropes while the final ball was hit for a boundary. Pandya's innings included only 31 singles as he launched the counter-attack, hitting most of his sixes in t
Out-of-favour India pacer Mohammed Shami, who has been in impressive form on the domestic circuit with 36 wickets across formats, has been named in Bengal's squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day competition. Shami, who has not played for India for a while and was overlooked for the recent series against South Africa, has enjoyed a strong return to competitive cricket for Bengal following a lengthy injury lay-off. Shami's fitness has been a subject of debate in recent times after the pacer missed out on selection. However, despite the absence of a national call-up, the senior fast bowler has been a standout performer in domestic tournaments. Beginning with the red-ball season, Shami picked up 20 wickets from four Ranji Trophy matches at an average of 18.60, including a 5/38, as Bengal remain unbeaten from five outings after securing three outright wins to sit atop Group C. He carried his form into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, finishing as Bengal's leading wicket-taker